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12 Macquarie L.J. 1 (2013)

handle is hein.journals/macq12 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITOR'S NOTE Volume 12 of the Macquarie Law Journal is a general publication which has attracted some high quality submissions that highlight the great variety of research topics currently being undertaken by Australian law academics. We are pleased to present seven articles that in their own ways contribute to a better understanding of a range of issues traversing international law, legal history, refugee law, human rights law and comparative jurisprudence. This volume starts with the 2013 Annual Tony Blackshield Lecture, which was presented recently at our law school by Professor George Williams. His incisive commentary on the spate of laws enacted in various Australian jurisdictions in response to the threat of international terrorism was very well received by the large audience present. Professor Williams' comprehensive presentation covers the initial justification for the anti-terror laws, but also critically considers their development, their real and potential effect on human rights in contemporary Australia and the prospects for reform. He also took the opportunity to reflect personally on his experiences as Tony Blackshield's student and colleague, a reflection that we publish as a short postscript. Professor David Clark's article on a neglected aspect of Australian judicial history makes a significant contribution that builds on previous research about individual judges in the 19th century Australian context. However, his exhaustively researched piece has raised the bar for its thoroughness and scope in relation to existing secondary literature as well as primary sources. It has done a great service to future scholars in this area. The article also elevates this complex aspect of our colonial history, highlighting the strained relationship between the judiciary and the colonial executive, to more abstract issues that help us also interpret our constitutional law in historical context. Professor Holly Cullen has prepared an interesting and topical description and evaluation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a relatively unnoticed example of international soft law. In her insightful evaluation of the scheme to date, Professor Cullen focuses on three sovereign states, each of which has had a unique experience of blood diamonds and the scheme designed to prevent their trade. Each heralds different lessons for its future. Her article also exposes the inherent difficulties underscoring such experiments in international law. It draws attention to the limitations of contemporary international consensus-based decision-making insofar as it aims to secure compliance with voluntary undertakings by sovereign states. We are delighted also to publish an article from a recent Macquarie Law School graduate, Lauren Hirsh, whose scrupulously prepared argument for the adoption of Australian gun laws in the United States deserves commendation. Lauren's contribution is in some ways a pioneering work which, based on an astute doctrinal analysis of two pivotal superior US court decisions, explores the constitutional and cultural barriers to the possibilities for more comprehensive gun control in America on the Australian model.

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