The Centre for Commercial Law
Previous News & Events
ASIC launches formal investigation into James Hardie
- PM radio
- Peta Spender (link)
Corporate Law Teachers' Association Conference
The Centre for Commercial Law hosted the annual Corporate Law Teachers' Association
(CLTA) Conference in February 2004. The Conference theme was "Regulating
Corporations". Debates about how and why we should regulate corporations
have been given renewed vigour in the early years of the 21st century and the
theme of the conference invited presenters to reconsider these debates - are
we looking at the same old arguments about regulation v de-regulation, or investor
protection v efficiency, or have there been shifts in the way we conceive of
corporate regulation?
Plenary speakers included Professor Janet Dine from the University
of Essex, Professor Steven L. Schwartz from Duke University
School of Law and Professor Berna Collier, ASIC Commissioner.
More than 17 papers were presented by corporate law teachers from Australia,
New Zealand and Malaysia.
The event was sponsored by Chartered Secretaries Australia, Thomson Lawbook,
LexisNexis and CCH.
Program
Executive Pay Forum
On Wednesday, 10 September 2003, the Centre for Commercial
Law and the Australian Labour Law Association
(ACT Chapter) hosted a forum on Executive Pay.
Guest speakers were:
Senator Ian Campbell, Parliamentary Secretary to
the Treasurer since November 2001. His portfolio includes
responsibility for the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program,
financial services and regulation policy, competition and
consumer issues, the Australian Securities and Investments
Commission, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
and the Foreign Investment Review Board.
Senator Joe Ludwig, Parliamentary Secretary (Shadow
Attorney-General); Manager of Opposition Business in the
Senate.
Dr Michael O'Donnell, Senior Lecturer, School of Management and Policy,
Division of Business, Law & Information Sciences, The University of Canberra.
Co-author of "The Buck Stops Here: Private Sector Executive Remuneration
in Australia" (2003) - a report prepared for the Labor Council of New South
Wales.
The Forum addressed a range of regulatory
and other issues that have emerged in light of the increased
focus on executive remuneration and termination payments
over the last few years.
Public Lecture
Colin Neave, Australian Banking Ombudsman, presented a seminar on "Industry
Funded ADR and Voluntary Codes of Practice" at the Faculty of Law on 17
June 2003.
Colin Neave practised as a Solicitor in Melbourne for
20 years between 1967 and 1987. The last five years of that
period he was Manager-Legal for, then Company Secretary
of, AMI Toyota Ltd, then a listed public company.
Between 1987 and 1996, he held senior positions with various
Governments, including Secretary of the Attorney-General's
Department in Victoria, Commissioner for Consumer Affairs
in South Australia and Managing Director of the Legal Aid
Commission in New South Wales.
He commenced as the Australian Banking Ombudsman in February
1996. He has been the Chairman of the Commonwealth Consumer
Affairs Advisory Council (and its predecessors) since July
1997.
The event was free and open to the public.
Mr Colin Neave (left) with Professor Stephen Bottomley
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PM stands by his duty to appoint
- writes Daniel Stewart Canberra
Times Article
(Friday, 20 May 2003)
Peta Spender
-
Appointed Chair of the ACT Fair Trading Advisory Committee
Peta Spender, Reader in Law in the Faculty of Law, has been
appointed Chair of the ACT Fair Trading Advisory Committee
by the ACT Attorney General, Mr Jon Stanhope. The Committee
is responsible for advising the ACT Government and the Commissioner
for Fair Trading on issues affecting the interests of consumers
and unfair practices affecting traders. The inaugural meeting
of the re-established Committee took place on Friday 23
May. The Committee will be generating and responding to
productive debate about consumer issues and fair trading.
Commercial Law Conference:
" Commercial Law - Private Business/Public Concern"
The conference was held on 30 September 2002 at the ANU
Faculty of Law
The theme of this conference coverd
contemporary issues, such as the insurance crisis and the
problem of unpaid worker's entitlements. It also covered
longstanding issues, such as the extent to which commercial
law should be regulated or left to private agreements. Is
there a need for government regulation of commercial dealings?
What form should that regulation take? Even if commercial
law is regarded as essentially private, is there nevertheless
a place for 'public' concepts, such as good faith etc? Mr
Justice Ken Hayne AC, High Court of Australia, delivered
the opening address. Papers were presented by Faculty Staff,
Distinguished Associates of the Centre and leading academics
from Canberra.
Above: Mr Justice Ken Hayne AC
Click here for
the opening address by Mr Justice Ken Hayne AC,
High Court of Australia.
Click here for the Program
and Biography of Speakers
Presentation Notes:
Dr Nick Seddon, Blake
Dawson Waldron and Distinguished Associate of the Centre
for Commercial Law (work in progress)
Professor Bryan
Horrigan, Director, National Centre for Corporate
Law and Policy Research, University of Canberra (presentation
slides)
Ms Anne McNaughton, Law Faculty, The Australian
National University (not available)
Mr Colin Scott,
RegNet, The Australian National University (presentation
slides)
Professor Phillipa Weeks, Law Faculty, The Australian
National University (not available)
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Phillipa Weeks
has been elected to the national Committee of the Australian
Labour Law Association
Public lecture by Professor
E.Allan Farnsworth
Click here
to listen to Professor Farnsworth's lecture
Download
RealPlayer
On 20 August 2002, Professor
E. Allan Farnsworth, Alfred McCormack Professor of Law,
Columbia University, presented a public lecture at the ANU
Faculty of Law. The lecture was organised by the Centre
for Commercial Law and Phillips Fox Lawyers.
Professor Farnsworth is one of the leading international
scholars in contract law. His lecture entitled "Good
Faith in Contract, and in Pre-Contractual Dealings"
addressed an issue that is at the forefront of contract
law development in Australia.
Professor Stephen Bottomley (left) with
Professor E.Allan Farnsworth (right)
Professor Farnsworth's visit to Australia has been made
possible by the Australian Mining & Petroleum Law Association.
Successful book launch in
Canberra
Commercial Law and Human Rights, edited by
Stephen Bottomley and David Kinley, was officially launched
in Canberra on 1 May 2002. The guest speaker of the evening
was Mr Chris Sidoti, National Spokesperson of the
Human Rights Council of Australia. His talk addressed the
question "what have human rights to do with commercial
law?". Mr Sidoti highlighted that this book "recognises
the cross-cutting nature of human rights by bringing in
the perspectives not only of pure commercial lawyers but
of many academics and commentators from many fields that
touch on human rights or commercial law".
The book is published by Ashgate Publishing and more information
is available on their website.
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Commercial
Law Teaching Workshop
On Friday 5 April 2002, about thirty commercial law teachers
from around Australia met for a one-day workshop to discuss
and share their experiences in teaching commercial law.
The purpose of the workshop was for commercial law teachers
to have an opportunity to talk to teachers in other commercial
law specialisations, to see what challenges and opportunities
we have in common.
Nearly all areas of commercial law were 'represented',
including contract, tax, negotiable instruments, trade practices,
insolvency, and intellectual property. Participants, who
came from law schools and commerce faculties, discussed
a range of topics, including: use of the internet, web-based
teaching, the problems of teaching complex statutes, teaching
in small and large groups, and the creative use of props
to engage student attention.
The Workshop was generously supported by CCH
Australia Ltd.
Workshop Program
