Message from the Founder

Message from the founder; Julian W.K. Burnside QC

All lawyers understand instinctively the importance of the rule of law. We learn it at law school; daily practice of law instils it: we expect the system to work according to its rules.

The treatment of asylum seekers in Australia involves a serious challenge to the rule of law. The Migration Act restricts drastically asylum seekers' access to courts. Their legal rights, minimal though they are, risk going by default.

When I initially invited people to join "Spare Lawyers for Refugees" I was overwhelmed by the response. Lawyers at all levels of seniority volunteered - final year law students, articled clerks, junior solicitors, senior solicitors, baby barristers to silks.

Spare Lawyers can help in many ways: by preparing appeals, by running appeals, by helping with applications for discretionary visas under section 417, or by undertaking legal research. The time commitment is a matter for you. The nett effect is a substantial contribution to the rights of a powerless and vilified group, and to the rule of law.

1. Hope and Experience: Human Rights in Australia speech to the Sth Aust Law Conference, July 2004
2. Sir Ninian Stephen Lecture Newcastle University March 2004
3. Crimes against Humanity: Melbourne Rotary Club Speech, in debate with Sen. Amanda Vanstone, on 16 February 2004
4. Inaugural Don Dunstan Human Rights Oration, 26 September 2003
   
5. Lionel Murphy Memorial Lecture 2002: Who'sAfraid of Human Rights?
   
6. Stephen Murray-Smith Memorial Lecture 2002: "Towards a Just Society - Beyond the Spin"
   
7. Deakin University Law School Oration 2002: Hypocrisy and Human Rights
   
8. Australia's Treatment of Refugees: the Tampa case
   
9. Asylum Seekers, Illegal Immigrants or Smuggled People?
   
10. Authoritarianism in the Name of Freedom
    
11. Human Rights and Asylum Seekers
    
12. Workplace Relations and Social Justice