Journal of Law, Information and Science
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by JOHN ZELEZNIKOW AND DAN HUNTER
Deventer, the Netherlands, Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers, 1994, 291 (pages plus glossary and index)
Use of information retrieval in helping to solve legal problems and disputes has a long history. In the past, the process was slow and long. However, in recent years with the advent of the computer significant inroads have been made and a new field of advanced legal support tools is emerging. These new legal support tools are providing more intelligent advice to lawyers and support staff and making the legal research process quicker and shorter. Building Intelligent Legal Information Systems is about these new advanced legal support tools.
The book is divided into three sections. The sections are ‘Fundamental Concepts’, Representation and Reasoning’ and ‘Future Tools’. The first section builds a foundation which supports the development of the rest of the book. It considers those legal and computer issues necessary for the construction of intelligent legal support tools. It identifies the tools required of the legal practitioner and the tools that computer science can deliver.
The next section introduces the artificial intelligence concepts. It is a detailed discussion on the use of logic in artificial intelligence, search strategies, object oriented programming, rule based reasoning, case based reason, hypertext and the integration of these facilities using distributed artificial intelligence techniques. Existing legal expert systems are used as examples.
The last section considers how to build commercial expert legal system and what will take you into the twenty first century. Consideration of user interface is acknowledge as an important aspect of the design of intelligent systems. Specifically, the use of hypertext to enable the user to browse through the information as they like.
Although the title of the book may sound intimidating, you do not need to be a computer expert or legal expert to read and appreciate the book. The book is well written and easy to read. However, for the novice there is a glossary. The book would be useful to a number of readers including legal practitioners, academics, legal students, computer professional and also computer science students.
Review by Pat Clark, Lecturer, School of Accounting and Finance, University of Canberra.
BOOK REVIEW
Zane L. Berge and Mauri P. Collins (ed), (ISBN: 1-881303-09-8)230 pgs including index; Vol II: Higher Education (ISBN: 1-881303-11-X) (209 pgs including index); and Vol III: Distance Learning (ISBN: 1-881303-13-6) (257 pgs including index), Hampton Press Inc, Cresskill, New Jersey, 1995.
These three volumes arose out of a LISTSERV discussion group, 'Interpersonal Computing and Technology'. The authors define computer-mediated communication (CMC) to describe 'the ways we humans use computer systems and networks to transfer, store and retrieve information' with the emphasis always on communication rather than on processing information (vol 1, at 1). CMC in turn can be divided into three aspects. The first is conferencing, which includes the use of E-mail, interactive messaging and small and large group discussion on the Internet. The second is informatics. This aspect of CMC includes library online public access catalogues (OPACs), interactive access to remote databases, program/data archive sites (which contain for example, pictures, sound, text, movies), campus-wide information systems (CWIS), wide-area information systems (WAIS), and information managers such as Gopher and Veronica. The third aspect is computer assisted instruction (CAI) in which the computer is used to structure and manage both the presentation of information and nature of responses available to the human user.
Volume I of this three volume work provides an overview to the possible uses of and issues involved with CMC. Some of the examples of applications involving CMC include:
• mentoring, such as advising and guiding students
• project-based instruction, either within the classroom or in projects involving community, national, or international problem solving
• guest lecturing, which promotes interaction between students and persons in the larger community
• didactic teaching, that is, suppling course content, posting assignments, or other information germane to course work
• retrieval of information from online information archives, such as OPACs, ERIC, and commercial databases
• course management, for example, advising, delivery of course content, evaluation, collecting and returning assignments
• public conferencing, such as discussion lists using mainframe Listserv software
• interactive chat, used to brainstorm with teachers or peers and to maintain social relationships
• personal networking and professional growth and such activities as finding persons with similar interests on scholarly discussion lists
• facilitating collaboration
• individual and group presentations
• peer review of writing, or projects involving, peer learning, groups/peer tutorial sessions, and peer counselling
• practice and experience using emerging technologies that may be intrinsically useful in today's society
• computer-based instruction, such as tutorials, simulations, and drills.(Vol I, at 3)
Through various examples, such as those listed above, the authors demonstrate and reflect upon both the advantages and disadvantages/limitations of CMC. Among the advantages are:
• the freedom from teaching restraints of time and distance
• students are encouraged to take charge of their own learning
• course design and delivery can be adjusted to the needs and learning style of different students.
• collaborative learning is enhanced
• peer learning is promoted
• greater attention is given to writing as a medium of communication as most systems are 'text-based'. Students also have the opportunity to write for a real audience as opposed to the artificiality of writing solely for the teacher as audience.
The limitations include:
• some students may find it difficult to cope with the self-discipline required
• students can feel isolated and intimidated
• the learning curve to learn the technology as well as the subject may be high
• students tend to come into courses with diverse technical backgrounds, thus finding a common ground may be difficult
• getting everything setup is very time-consuming
• teachers often lack the technical expertise and support required
Most of the chapters in Vol I refer to specific CMC projects at all levels of education. These include the use of CMCs in writing instruction, in teaching the educationally disabled student, in teaching American Indians, and so on. Vol I concludes with a chapter which gives a very readable description of various network resources, including FTP, gopher, e-mail, telnet, group conferencing, newsgroups and much more.
Volume II of Computer Mediated Communication has as its special focus - higher education. The contributors to this volume write about: the design of computer-mediated conferencing for instruction, network-based writing classroom, the use of computers in teaching Literature, on-line collaborataive investigation of Eighteenth-Century Literature, applications of CMC to psychology and political science courses, a computer mediated teacher induction program, a computer-mediated communication in medical education program, and the online training for Online Information Retrieval systems.
Volume III focuses on distance learning. With the advent of CMCs it is clear that the distinction between on-campus learning and distance education is becoming increasingly blurred. The chapters in this volume range widely. One chapter looks to the nature and role of distance education into the 21st Century. Others focus on instructional design and the description of particular distance education strategies, for example moderating computer conferences, moderating discussion groups, use of electronic bulletin boards, providing access to an online expert, and home schooling. The final chapter provides a very useful list of online resource for distance educators.
All three volumes are thoroughly indexed. Another attractive feature is the detailed glossary of CMC terms. Given the technical nature of the subject and the tendency of writers to use abbreviations, this was most welcome and would be invaluable to the novice reader. A few minor complaints about these three volumes are:
1. With so many authors it is perhaps no surprise that the volumes often do not 'hang-together' terribly well. Thus one is forced to read very selectively and jump from chapter to chapter taking in what is relevant. Missing is a developmental and contextual approach which would be found in a single-author publication. As a result of this some of the material is repetitive and the chapters are of uneven quality, level of detail, etc.
2. Demonstrating just how rapidly those whole area is changing, there is almost no discussion in the three volumes of the World Wide Web and such software as Netscape. Yet, this technology has revolutionised the potential of the Internet, especially in relation to distance education. Insufficient attention is also given to groupware and its impact on various educational settings.
3. Personally, I would like to have had more material which related the best of educational theory and practice to this area. Most chapters are heavily descriptive, written by a proponent who has experimented with the use of technology in a learning environment. Few chapters discuss curriculum design and development, evaluation, and so on. Few chapters adopt an analytical approach to the subject matter of teaching and technology. There is also insufficient recognition of the linkages between technology and almost all other areas of an educational setting, including promotion policies, staff development, nature of 'publications', and assessment policies.
Notwithstanding these minor criticisms, this three volume work provides an excellent range of examples of the potential and promise of computer mediation communication and the online classroom. Both the neophyte and the experienced teacher as well as school administrators, librarians and others involved in education will find it informative and useful.
Review by Professor Eugene Clark, BA, MEd, MEd Studies, JD(Hons), PhD
BOOK REVIEW
by MARGARET CALVERT
(Sydney: Butterworths, 1995)
I must admit to some initial scepticism when I was asked to review this book. The aims of Technology Contracts are, to say the least, ambitious. Margaret Calvert claims to have written the book for `anyone who wants a single book on the major legal issues in negotiating and drafting technology contracts’ (xi). Technology contracts, that is, contracts which involve intellectual property rights, are becoming increasingly common. Thus, those who are involved in such contracts includes lawyers, researchers, negotiators (in both public and private enterprise), IT managers and consultants, manufacturers, and risk managers. The aim of the book is to provide the reader with a sound understanding of the process and substance of technology contracting, ie the ways in which the law protects technology, the legal issues which are likely to arise in a transaction involving technology, and the steps that should be taken in order to maximise the transaction’s commercial potential. On its face, providing one book which covers such a wide area (negotiation, contract law, intellectual property issues) for such a diverse range of individuals would appear to be a difficult task. Margaret Calvert’s text, Technology Contracts is thus something a triumph: It combines a number of different areas relevant to the creation and performance of technology contracts in one text; it is extremely practical; and it is written in terms that can be understood and applied by those who have no formal legal training.
In content, the book is very comprehensive. It explains legal issues involved in exploiting and acquiring technology in such transactions as research and development; joint ventures; supply; distribution; outsourcing; and licensing. Technology Contracts does not profess to be a legal text-book. It is not intended to cover the whole of the law applicable to each legal issue nor does it provide critical analysis of the law. There are no lengthy references to statutes or to cases. Rather, the book is a practical guide to the relevant legal issues and a starting point for further research. Cases are used as illustrations of the general principles and the author provides list of further reading materials relevant to selected topics.
The book is divided into four parts. Part I is entitled ‘Making a Contract’; Part II is entitled ‘How to Protect Technology’; Part III is entitled (somewhat mysteriously) ‘What else to think About’ and Part IV is entitled ‘Managing Risks’. Each of these parts is then subdivided into chapters. Thus, within the broad heading of `Making a Contract’, the author explores concepts, planning and negotiating; contract design and express and implied contract terms. Within Part II, ‘How to Protect Technology’, she explores such issues as confidential information, automatic intellectual property rights, registered intellectual property rights and trade marks. In the category `What else to think about’, she considers competition issues, other non-contractual liability and tax issues. Part IV, `Managing Risks’ is divided into risk management; managing liability and resolving problems.
To succeed in her stated objectives, Margaret Calvert must ensure that Technology Contracts is relevant and useful to both lawyers and non-lawyers. She does this in a number of ways. The structure of the book is very carefully crafted. Each part begins with an overview of the contents of that part. This provides a guide to the structure of that section, the issues involved, and an explanation of terms used. In turn, each chapter starts with a concise overview of the contents of that chapter.
A distinctive feature of this text is that it provides standard clauses for use in technology contracts. Calvert provides over 100 such standard clauses. For instance, Standard Clause 4.3 deals with supply of services:
1. SUPPLY OF SERVICES
1.1 Supplier must supply the Services in accordance with the Service Specification.
1.2 Customer acknowledges Supplier is not obliged to comply with clause 1.1 if Customer does not provide the Information in accordance with the Service Specification.
OR
1.2 Customer must provide, in accordance with the Service Specification, all Information and Customer Facilities.
The Service Specification would deal with at least the following:
• type of service, eg disaster prevention/recovery, batch or on-line processing or facilities management; or R & D tasks
• customer materials to be stored, or information to be processed
• minimum storage and access requirements
• service availability and reliability
• minimum output quality and time deadlines - the customer should negotiate remedies for failure to meet these minimums, including termination in a worst case
• how information will be delivered and kept secure
• what the customer is required to do, eg provide what information when and how
• user support, eg help desk and response times to complaints
• where the supplier is to manage the customer’s facility, who is responsible for system acquisition and maintenance? Is the services supplier also a system integrator? Who is responsible for problems? Are there key personnel: see SC 4.22
Calvert thus provides very useful guidelines for any one involved in negotiating or drafting technology contracts. Some of these standard clauses use deliberate vagueness more frequently than I feel is appropriate, but Calvert is not suggesting that these clauses be followed blindly. She notes that standard clauses are merely suggestions about how to deal with the issues and how to achieve the goals of particular transactions. They do not replace the hard work of determining what parties need and want out of their transactions. She notes that if standard clauses are adapted blindly, the parties may have different understandings of the transaction which may well lead to litigation.
A second distinctive feature of this text is the use of checklists. These appear throughout the book, providing a valuable guide to those involved in the practical aspects of technology contracts. For instance, writing in regard to the tender process, Calvert provides the following:
[2.22] At the very least, a potential purchaser or licensee should take the following steps:
• define user needs or requirements, including the required timetable, in precise terms
• write the tender terms and tender or proposal forms: see [3.39]
• write the draft contract
• issue the RFT or RFP
• receive tenders or proposals until the closing date specified in the tender terms
• evaluate all tenders that meet the minimum criteria specified in the RFT or RFP
• clarify questions with tenderers, either by correspondence or at meetings with tenderers. Meetings should be documented
• choose a short list, and negotiate with them. Contract negotiations should be minimised because tenderers should have been required to indicate complete agreement with each contract clause, or explain why they cannot agree and what they can offer
• once contract negotiations are finalised, choose the successful tender. Do not pick the successful tenderer and then start to negotiate because bargaining power is lost
• sign the contract and begin work. Do not start work and then try to get the contract signed, because inertia tends to prevail.
In addition to the use of standard clauses and checklists, Calvert ensures that this book is accessible to the non-lawyer in a number of other ways. She makes good use of tables and diagrams to simplify material. She is careful to discuss issues from different perspectives. For example, in 6.39, she considers the intellectual property rights created in the university setting and provides a checklist of considerations for companies involved in dealing with universities and for companies dealing directly with academics. The author uses plain language and relies upon a concise exposition of issues and principles throughout. Her belief is that plain language assists to convey the often complex issues involved in technology drafting and promotes clear thought (xii). The book contains a good table of cases, table of short form terms, table of standard clauses and a comprehensive index.
In total, the book is a very valuable resource for all those involved in technology contracts. It is both comprehensive and practical. So, are there any aspects of this book that I can criticise? The criticisms that I do have are minor. Firstly, the book is rather encyclopaedic in character. Such texts often tend to be dry. However, the author’s use of plain English minimises this problem. Secondly, an overall glossary of terms would be useful. Thirdly, as I have already noted, the author uses deliberate vagueness quite extensively in the standard clauses. This is fine so long as people understand that deliberate vagueness can be a two edged sword. My final criticism is that although the section on testing the draft (p.98) is good it could be more comprehensive and placed into a `checklist’ format.
As I have said, the criticisms are minor. I would recommend this book to both lawyers and non-lawyers. Lawyers who are not well acquainted with intellectual property issues will find Technology Contracts a well-referenced guide to this area and a starting point for further research. Non lawyers will find this book provides comprehensive practical assistance to the legal issues involved in technology contracts. Even where the contract is question does not necessarily involve new technology, the provides a helpful guide to basic negotiation and contract principles. Finally, I would also recommend the book to students - not as a text but as a guide to some of the practical problems involved in negotiating and designing technology contracts.
Review by Paula Baron, Lecturer in Law, University of Tasmania
BOOK REVIEW
by HAJ FORD AND RP AUSTIN
(7th ed) (Sydney: Butterworths, 1995)
It is a difficult task to review a text that is now in its seventh edition. Principles of Company Law has been the recommended company law text book in a number of Australian law schools for many years. As an undergraduate law student, I used an earlier edition of this text and found it to be both relevant and accessible. Yet, Australian company law and the way in which company law is taught as an undergraduate course have changed considerably in recent years. Corporate regulation has increased dramatically, and the Corporations Law is both voluminous and complex. At the same time, the emphasis in many law schools has changed from the so-called `black-letter’ approach to company law, to a more contextual analysis of the relevant legal principles. In light of these changes, the question that must be asked is this: Is Principles of Company Law still a relevant and accessible text for undergraduate law students?
The authors of the text need little introduction: Professor HAJ Ford is the Professor Emeritus of Commercial Law at the University of Melbourne and Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria; RP Austin is a solicitor of the Supreme Courts of NSW, Qld, Vic and ACT. The authors bring to the text, as in past editions, an extensive knowledge of company law, an eye for detail and an ability to state the principles of company law with clarity. For those who may not be acquainted with past editions of the text, Ford wrote the first edition which was published in 1974. The sixth edition and supplements to the fifth and sixth editions were co-written by Ford and Austin. In this edition, Austin prepared Chapters 7-11 and 22-24; and Ford wrote Chapters 1-6, 12-21, 25-27 and compiled the index.
This edition of Principles of Company Law is clearly aimed at the student market. The publishers state that `[t]his student edition has been thoroughly updated, revised and written with undivided attention to student needs’ and `[t]he result is a text which provides students with a manageable yet comprehensive understanding of Australian Corporations Law’. In the preface, the authors note that it has become increasingly difficult to satisfy both students and practitioners in developing a text of this type: `Current thinking holds that many matters of interest to practitioners need not appear in a book for students’ (vii). Thus, this edition appears first as a work for students and is to be followed by a one volume loose-leaf compilation for practitioners. The loose-leaf edition is to be arranged in the same way as the student edition, but with additional topics and citations.
As a student text, Principles of Company Law has considerably more competition than had the first edition in 1974. In recent years, company law texts have `mushroomed’ as commentators seek to make corporate law intelligible to students. These books vary in nature from those which, like Principles are primarily statements of the issues and relevant law; to cases and materials (such as Redmond’s Companies and Securities Law: Commentary and Materials) which provide a critical perspective; to the contextual approach of Wishart’s recently published Company Law in Context.
Noting this range of texts, why would a student, studying company law in 1996, buy Principles of Company Law rather than another available text? Perhaps, more accurately, why would a lecturer prescribe this text for students in a company law course? Certainly, the book has a number of advantageous features. It is very comprehensive. A weighty 1000+ pages, the text is divided into seven parts: Companies and company law; a company as a corporate entity; the law of corporate governance; corporate liability; corporate finance; corporate control transactions; and external administration. This structure is based upon what the authors see as the possible stages in the life of the company: Creation, normal operation, abnormal operation (under receivership, under administration, under a deed of company arrangement); winding up and dissolution.
This edition differs to the sixth edition in a number of ways: The text has been redesigned, so that some subjects are reordered (for instance, corporate finance is now discussed after corporate governance); the law designed to protect creditors has been placed together in a new chapter; and the treatment of directors and their duties has been `recast’ (vii). The new text also takes into account the changes brought about by the Corporate Law Reform Act 1994 (Cth); and the Corporations Legislation Amendment Act 1994 (Cth) and it notes the proposals in the Exposure Draft of the First Corporate Law Simplification Bill.
As in past editions, this text is well-structured, clear and comprehensively indexed. It is thus very easy for readers to find the information that they need quickly. The authors make considerable use of subheadings and paragraph numbering to achieve this. Although most of the book consists of text, there are some attempts to provide explanation by way of diagram (see, for instance, the discussion of related bodies corporate). Each chapter has its own table of contents, further facilitating access to the relevant information.
Students, however, may well have some resistance to this particular text and, as a lecturer, I would have some reservations about prescribing Principles of Company Law. Will this text facilitate students’ understanding of Australian company law? It is undeniably comprehensive and informative, but covers a vast amount of material with little or no critical analysis. The preface to the first edition quotes Lord Lindley’s cautionary note that readers should not rely upon such abridged texts but should `consult the statutes themselves in every case which he may have to investigate’(x). This is important advice. Readers need to consult not only the statutes but the relevant case law to understand the nuances of this subject. Principles of Company Law directs students to the leading cases but does not necessarily discuss those cases or place them within any contextual framework. As a result of this approach, the text tends to be very dry. For instance, in the context of a discussion of the statutory rule of indoor management, the authors consider the issue of `Where the outsider is a corporation, how does it acquire “actual knowledge”?’ in the following way:
[13.330] Under a doctrine of identification, a company acquires whatever information is known by its board of directors and knowledge that its individual directors and agents have a duty to tell it. There is a qualification that a company is not taken to know about a fraud on it by its director or agent.
A company will not necessarily know something which is a composite of a number of items of information each known independently to two or more of its directors or agents: Re Chisum Services Pty Ltd (1982) 7 ACLR 641 at 650.
But the company may have the composite knowledge where a director or agent, knowing one item, had a duty to the company to make enquiries which might have elicited the other items: Brambles Holdings Ltd v Carey (1976) 2 ACLR 176 at 181.
It may also be fixed with composite knowledge where one agent knowing a fact had a duty and opportunity to communicate to the other agent who knew the second fact: Re Chisum Services Pty Ltd (1982) 7 ACLR 641 at 650.
Knowledge is not imputed to the principal if the agent has only a limited authority to receive knowledge: R v Biggins [1954] VicLawRp 41; [1955] VLR 36; [1955] ALR 222.
Where a company is the principal, knowledge acquired by a person authorised to perform some narrow range of ministerial acts which did not involve the acquisition of knowledge would not be imputed to the company. A third person seeking to have the company fixed with particular knowledge would have to show that the company held the agent out as a person authorised to acquire that kind of knowledge. A managing director’s implied actual authority would be wide enough to receive any knowledge relevant to the company’s business. The company could not deny to the third person that it knew what had been communicated to the managing director. If in fact the managing director had not made the knowledge available to the company and the company suffered loss through being deemed to know in favour of the third person, the company would have a cause of action to sue the managing director for breach of the duty of care and diligence under s 232 (4).
Such an approach is appropriate for the legal practitioner. The principle of law and appropriate reference are given and further research can then be pursued. In fact, whilst I was writing this review, a local practitioner rang me to ask a question relating to a fairly obscure aspect of the law relating to shares. The answer was at my fingertips: It was in Principles of Company Law, clearly stated and easy to find. For the student who has no initial knowledge or understanding of the framework or background of company law, however, this text is daunting and unwieldy. Company law is a difficult subject and many students will need some sort of `road map’ to guide them through its complexities.
In an attempt to overcome this problem, an accompanying workbook to the text is available for students (Morrison and Anderson, Workbook to Ford and Austin’s Principles of Corporations Law, 7th ed). This provides simple overviews of each chapter and graded questions to challenge students’ understanding of important areas within each chapter. I have not had the opportunity to view this text. I do, however, have a copy of Fisher, Wiseman and Anderson, Corporations Law (Sydney: Butterworths, 1994), a companion to Ford and Austin’s sixth edition. The objectives of that text are stated as follows: `[T]o convey, in a relatively short compass, the essential elements of corporations law to students so that they can see the constituent parts of the law and their interrelationship; and to bridge the gap between student `cribs’ and the magnum opus of Australian corporations law, Ford’s Principles of Corporations Law, which experience tells us is seen by students as a highly detailed and specialist work’ (at v).
The necessity to develop an accompanying text to explain and summarise Principles of Company Law is evidence of the difficulties students encounter in using the latter text. In addition, the need to purchase an additional workbook poses practical problems: It is financially onerous for students to purchase the Corporations Legislation, Principles and an accompanying workbook for a course that is ordinarily taught over one semester.
So, to return to the question that I posed at the beginning of this review: Is Principles of Company Law still relevant and accessible as a text for undergraduate law students? My answer would have to be no. The increased size and complexity of the text is, of course, a reflection of the increased size and complexity of the law relating to corporations- and much has been written about that problem. Beyond this, however, I believe that the lack of critical analysis limits the relevance of this text in the contemporary law school where, increasingly, we encourage students to look beyond the letter of the law to the political, social and economic factors that have shaped, and continue to shape, corporate regulation. I have little doubt that this book will be attractive to those students who wants to know what the bottom line is - the students who repeatedly demand: `tell me the answer’ . Principles of Company Law will provide the answer, but will not help such students to understand the question.
Review by Paula Baron, Lecturer in Law, University of Tasmania
BOOK REVIEW
by CHRIS CUNNEEN AND TERRY LIBESMAN
Butterworths, 1995, pp x and 254.
My first reaction on reading the authors’ preface to this book was one of disappointment because it seemed that it was “only” a school book. I have nothing against school books as such but school is a part of my life I left behind long ago without a second thought - which only goes to show how wrong first impressions can be. My problem was that I thought this book would lack the analysis and critical content one seeks in university level texts. But then, it is not meant to be a university text. Yet maybe schools have changed, because this book is certainly critical and analytical.
Reading this book as an immigrant to Australia, it is difficult to appreciate the history of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in this country, especially since white settlement. But immigrants, if not fools, may rush in where angels fear to tread. Pat O’Shane’s Foreword made a stark and telling point that many Australians born in this country were (are?) equally ignorant and uncomprehending of that history, as if many white Australians might as well have been new immigrants, given their ignorance of the realities. And this is surely the crucial point: Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders have simply been treated like the foreigners immigrants are when they arrive - except that they were foreigners in, and on, their own land.
But this book is not an account of the depredations suffered by one group at the hands of another. Rather, it sets out to provide comprehensive accounts of how the law impinges peculiarly on the lives of indigenous people in Australia, with, as the authors stress, an indigenous perspective. And they have certainly achieved their objective.
The format of the book includes extensive quotation and questions for discussion, which I at least found very useful in stimulating thought; in the classroom I believe it would be equally effective in promoting discussion. The content is, at least to me, comprehensive. I found the chapter on the Mabo case especially useful for its exposition of (so to speak) white justice encountering black rights. But of course Mabo is only one feature of the legal landscape, albeit one which has had commentators wilting over their word processors as they churn out yet more interpretations of Justice Brennan’s opinion. The authors to my mind do a very good job in isolating the crucial features of the case and putting the whole thing in perspective.
So the book deals with much more than Mabo. The earlier chapters address the early contacts between white settlers and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. A later chapter addresses the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system. Personally, I would have given this chapter another title - at first glance one might be forgiven for thinking it dealt with a surfeit of Aboriginal barristers. The truth, unfortunately, is quite different.
Cunneen and Libesman have produced an excellent book. Its coverage of legal issues relating to Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders is comprehensive and, at least for this reviewer, very informative. Nowadays it is unlikely that people in Australia could be as misinformed about these matters as Pat O’Shane’s interlocutor in her Foreword. But even those who think they know a lot may still learn a bit from this book. And some of us who think we know a bit may learn a lot.
Review by Ryszard Piotrowicz, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Tasmania
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