The challenges facing evidence-based law have never been so substantial. Courts are grappling with an exponentially growing body of scientific research that is of uneven quality and transparency. Perhaps not surprisingly then, invalid or misleading forensic science evidence has contributed to many wrongful convictions in Australia and abroad. At the heart of the problem is the interdisciplinary challenge of communicating uncertainty about science to laypeople.

This joint conference brings together members of the judiciary, academics, policymakers and other experts to consider current issues and challenges in the Australian justice system.

Observed annually on October 10, World Day Against the Death Penalty unifies and mobilises civil society, political leaders, lawyers, and public opinion in pursuit of universal abolition of the death penalty. 2022 also marks the centenary of one of the world’s earliest statutory abolitions in the Australian state of Queensland.

Abolition may now be widely embraced as a norm of international human rights law, but its establishment as a comprehensive and irrevocable fact remains elusive.