Law - What is it Good for?

Globally, regionally and domestically, 2001/02 has presented our communities with significant challenges:
- the response to the terror attack of September 11
- governance breakdowns
- the plight of refugees, and
- the response of governments to these phenomena.

All of these represent challenges for policy makers and have prompted many commentators to question law's role in meeting them. Beyond these, there are economic and environmental issues arising from increased globalisation,
new forms of intellectual property, bio-scientific advances that raise privacy concerns, legal jurisdiction in defamation cases, the roles and rights of Indigenous minorities in many countries within the region, and new
legislation which impacts upon civil and political liberties. All of these have one common feature. They raise questions regarding the role of the law, lawyers, teachers and their students in addressing important policy issues.

Whether law can help, and what help it can provide, are therefore important questions for Australasian Law Teachers Association (ALTA) members to consider and address as part of the 2002 Conference.

- About ALTA -

The Australasian Law Teachers Association (ALTA) is the professional body which represents the interests of teachers of law in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. ALTA seeks to advance legal education (and the interests of law teachers) throughout Australasia, and especially focuses on the encouragement of legal research and the dissemination of its results. Membership is open to teachers of law and law librarians in tertiary institutions in these countries. Associate membership is open to former teachers of law and other persons engaged in or associated with the teaching of, or research into, law in these countries and to teachers of law in other countries in the Asian and Pacific regions.

For further information