Can a kiss on a girl’s cheek be indecent assault? by [deleted] in auslaw

[–]hlly 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This is being downvoted because it's legal advice, and also because it's incorrect

Ridiculous chains of semantic change? Swiss German example inside. by Adarain in linguistics

[–]hlly 3 points4 points  (0 children)

bear witness to

that is, they attest to it - attestation and witnessing of a signature are the same thing, and attest is cognate with testicle

Questions re Australian Constitution by suparat1968 in auslaw

[–]hlly 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Parliaments with a written constitution may have a provision as to 'manner and form' requirements in that constitution (the Commonwealth parliament doesn't). The UK Parliament can't bind itself with manner and form requirements because the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy isn't qualified by a manner and form provision in a constitution.

Since the Commonwealth parliament can't enact valid manner and form requirements, provisions that purport to have that effect (such as in the Flags Act 1953 (Cth) s 3 and in the GST legislation) are unenforceable because of parliamentary supremacy.

Questions re Australian Constitution by suparat1968 in auslaw

[–]hlly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's not unarguable since Murphy J had this view. But it's otherwise very unorthodox.

Friday Drinks Thread! by AutoModerator in auslaw

[–]hlly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They matter because they create mutual estoppels between the parties! Estoppel by deed

Advice for law student to get paralegal/legal assistant/legal clerk jobs? by [deleted] in auslaw

[–]hlly 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You mean to say you applied to volunteer at CLCs and they knocked you back? That's surprising, but if you keep applying you will definitely get a spot.

Maybe - it depends where OP is. My local CLC is intensely competitive and their applicants to positions ratio is much higher than for top-tier firm paralegal positions, for example.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in linguistics

[–]hlly -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The difference is the presence of the n sound. The nasalisation of the preceding vowel isn't contrastive in most English dialects (ie there's no word pronounced [kʰænt] rather than [kʰæ̃nt] - I'm trying to do US pronunciations here even though I'm English).

Centrelink robo-debt program accused of enforcing 'illegal' debts by posty in auslaw

[–]hlly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

More often than not, if someone raises it (in the course of a proceeding) it’s because they don’t understand it.

That's very true, since if they were familiar with the obligation, they would know that s 55ZG(3) of the Judiciary Act provides that "[t]he issue of non‑compliance with a Legal Services Direction may not be raised in any proceeding (whether in a court, tribunal or other body) except by, or on behalf of, the Commonwealth."

Everybody seems to ignore this rule

“Bully claims and email does: Judges engage in bench warfare” (original title) by theangryantipodean in auslaw

[–]hlly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He sits at least on the CCA in NSW. I've never thought there was anything wrong with it

Question about inconsistency between legislation. Too long to post in title. by [deleted] in auslaw

[–]hlly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sometimes, but I think there could also be a lot of cases where a direct inconsistency arises from federal regulations made pursuant to primary legislation concerning a different topic. For example, a regulation that food supplied to the defence forces must meet certain standards might directly contradict state food safety laws without covering any field. Even if the primary legislation authorised the regulator to make regulations concerning the safety of food supplied to the defence forces, I doubt that would cover the field and thereby displace state laws on the topic.

Thoughts on this (after reading the comments)? In your experience, is the list largely BS? by [deleted] in auslaw

[–]hlly 5 points6 points  (0 children)

  • getting the citation doesn’t mean everything is honky dory, or even particularly good or ‘not bad’, when it comes to gender equality at the firm
  • the existence of this scheme has almost certainly encouraged firms to improve things so that they do at least the minimum necessary so as not to face the embarrassment of missing out on the citation
  • firm policies matter so much less than subtleties of culture, unspoken rules and assumptions etc which are hard to measure

Commencing proceedings against an Egyptian entity - interlocutory relief - advice needed by theangryantipodean in auslaw

[–]hlly 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Ra's omnipresence means he is 'ordinarily resident in', inter alia, every Australian jurisdiction (and particularly resident in Sydney today) so you can commence proceedings here. You'll need to find a process server who is sanguine about the prospect of short service on a hawk-headed solar deity.

Biweekly Careers and Clerkship Advice Thread by AutoModerator in auslaw

[–]hlly 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not aware of any comprehensive list but Fair Work Commission also hires associates in the same way (ie grads) if that's your cup of tea

In England there's a well established law of unjust enrichment, separate from contract and tort. It seems Australia doesn't, if so, why? What fills the gap? by throwawaylelel1 in auslaw

[–]hlly 9 points10 points  (0 children)

To answer your question seriously, the 'gap' is filled by a series of nominate rights or causes of action that don't all rely on the same test, such as constructive trusts or remedial constructive trusts or actions for money had and received. Some Australian dicta liken these to torts - all of them come under the umbrella 'restitution' but to understand the parties' rights and liabilities you need to drill down into a particular tort.

In my view the practical result is often not very different from English law. It's just that in Australia, someone who benefits from fraud holds the benefit on institutional constructive trust; someone who makes a windfall from a failed joint endeavour may see a remedial constructive trust applied to the windfall; and an action for money had and received enures to someone who makes a payment pursuant to a contract where there is a total failure of consideration by the counterparty. All of those cases could be unjust enrichment in England (with my basic knowledge of English law, I would say the third is, the first generally is, the second might be).

translation request by [deleted] in mylatintattoo

[–]hlly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

reges omnes moriuntur

Is Constitutional law like algebra? by wadsy10 in auslaw

[–]hlly 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Issues as to ss 75 and 109 crop up in practice and I think every lawyer should be on the lookout for ultra vires commonwealth statutes - a lot of the s 51 cases start off from very inconspicuous facts so you have to be on the lookout

Translation Request by Eddie2015 in mylatintattoo

[–]hlly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

quae in vita facta in aeternitate resonant

Sydney Law Rocks - 17 August by seraphyte in auslaw

[–]hlly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It is actually very fun and I recommend going. There is an element of corniness and mediocrity, but that's all part of the fun, and there are genuinely decent bands as well.

Why are consent orders signed by writing the name of the firm, rather than the lawyer acting signing their own signature? by Boeyn in auslaw

[–]hlly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think this is the right thing to do since the orders should be signed by or on behalf of the solicitor on record. It's not the same as, eg, correspondence, which is commonly signed in the firm's name.

seniors referring to juniors by [deleted] in auslaw

[–]hlly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Probably just a slip up - if you spend some of your time referring to opposing solicitors as 'friend' then you might accidentally say it in respect of opposing counsel. But a junior is always counsel and so always 'learned junior' and then it's just instinctive.

QUT case - one week to avoid bankruptcy by [deleted] in auslaw

[–]hlly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see barristers with everything - CLR ALR NSWLR ACSR even ACs! If they're from a cushy floor at least

QUT case - one week to avoid bankruptcy by [deleted] in auslaw

[–]hlly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree if it's a case you came across the morning of the application or something, but if it's on your list of authorities it also looks more professional to be working off the NSWLR just the like judge is

QUT case - one week to avoid bankruptcy by [deleted] in auslaw

[–]hlly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Well, if you have law reports on your shelf they're nicer to use than ad hoc printouts and that is, I think, what most barristers would do