Law Report

The Law Report speaks to victims who are calling for the banking giant to compensate them, and asks, how effective are Australian laws in dealing with sophisticated scams?

Australia's most decorated living soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been granted bail after being charged with five counts of the war crime of murder. Why was he granted bail? And why did the judge find there were exceptional circumstances and bail did not impose any unacceptable risks?

In countries where voluntary assisted dying is allowed, there are very different legal frameworks. A high-profile case in Spain raises questions of whether the procedure should only be allowed if there is a terminal illness. Should the medical criteria also include mental distress? And how does mental illness impact on the idea of agency and choice?

Indigenous incarceration rates are off the scale in Australia. For the last four years, the District Court of New South Wales has been trialling the Walama sentencing list, a program aimed at reducing recidivism.

The Law Report is asking some big picture questions about the pros and cons of facial recognition software use by police and retailers.