Upcoming Events
Seminar: Is there An Obligation to Obey Unjust Laws?
Before attending this event please purchase an ALPSA membership for $3. https://campus.hellorubric.com/?tab=memberships&s=1338 (https://campus.hellorubric.com/?tab=memberships&s=1338)
Is there an obligation to obey unjust laws?
Augustine said that, without justice, a legal system is just ‘a gang of criminals on a large scale’. An unjust community, he claimed, is ‘some kind of mob, not deserving the name of a people’. Based on sentiments like these, it is tempting to conclude that we have no obligation to obey unjust laws; that they are, as the classical natural law slogan puts it, ‘no laws at all’. However, further reflection shows the situation is more complex. This seminar explores the circumstances under which people may come to have moral obligations to obey unjust laws. The ability of governments to create such obligations constitutes a form of moral manipulation that inflicts serious harm on citizens, as well as the legal system.
Jonathan Crowe is Head of School and Dean of the School of Law and Justice at the University of Southern Queensland, where he also holds a Research Chair in Law and Justice. He previously taught at Bond University and the University of Queensland. He is the author of numerous books and articles on legal philosophy, ethics and public law.
Seminar: Natural Law With and Without God (Past)
Join us as Professor Jonathan Crowe explores the different approaches to natural law with and without God; as well as the implications of God's existence, and non-existence for natural law.
Virtual Seminar: the Human Right to a Healthy Environment (Past)
Before attending this event, please purchase ALPSA membership for $2 via QPAY: https://alpsalawmembership.getqpay.com/
In 2019, Queensland joined Victoria and the ACT by enacting the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld), which includes a right to life.
In this seminar, Dr Justine Bell-James will explore whether the right to life can be used as a vehicle for environmental claims. Most importantly, the right to life may have implications for executive policy, legislative reform, and litigation regarding climate change.
The seminar will take place via Zoom. We will post a link to the Zoom meeting a week before the seminar. Dr Bell-James's presentation will be followed by a Q & A.
This seminar is a great chance for students with an interest in human rights and environmental law to explore a cutting-edge topic: one that may have widespread implications in the coming years.
Virtual Seminar: the US Impeachment Process (Past)
What is impeachment, where does it come from, and what equivalent processes (if any) do we have in Australia?
Professor Graeme Orr will be answering these questions, as well as exploring the rationale and risks of impeachment in ALPSA's first ever virtual seminar. To do so, Professor Orr will compare the US process with Australia's processes for removing judges from office and explore their common history. The seminar will be followed by a Q & A.
ALPSA will deliver this seminar via Zoom. The seminar will be live, rather than recorded and published online. Make sure to click "going" to give us an indication of how many students will be joining the seminar. We will publish a link to the Zoom conference a week before the seminar.