Keon-Cohen, Bryan --- "Book Review - The Laws of Australia: Volume 1 Aborigines" [1993] AboriginalLawB 53; (1993) 3(64) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 31

• Book Review-The Laws Of Australia: Volume 1 Aborigines

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Book Review -

The Laws of Australia:
Volume 1 Aborigines

Law Book Company Ltd, 1993

Reviewed by Bryan Keon-Cohen

This loose-leaf volume entitled Aborigines is a substantial scholarly and (for those who can afford it) useful contribution to this area. The work is directed towards practitioners seeking a concise coverage of particular topics, direct and authoritative propositions, and an indication of further research. At this level of 'first point of reference', judged by the chapters so far published, it succeeds well.

Seven topics are dealt with, being: Constitutional Status; Aboriginal Customary Law; Land Law; Cultural Heritage; Criminal Justice Issues; Civil Justice Issues; and International Law. Of these the chapters on Aboriginal Customary Law and Cultural Heritage are currently unavailable, but are expected to be published in December 1993. Undoubtedly, a major influence upon both the structural plan and substantive analysis in various chapters is the delivery of judgment, on 3 June 1992, of Mabo v Queensland (No. 2) [1992] HCA 23; 1992, 175 CLR 1.

The largest and most comprehensive treatment concerns Land Law, written by no less than six contributors, each of them well recognised in the field. The chapters on Constitutional and International legal issues are also given considerable prominence. No doubt the unavailable chapters - Cultural Heritage and Aboriginal Customary Law - will also be significant elements of the final product.

Under "Land Law", considerable attention is given to Mabo under the heading "Native Title at Common Law". This is followed by analysis of the broad features of legislative schemes in the various States and Territories. This chapter provides a valuable overview for each jurisdiction. Throughout (as in all chapters) propositions are clearly stated with discussion minimised. Citations are extensive and accessible, with reference to leading authority or secondary material.

The chapter on International Law, written by Sara Pritchard, is particularly note-worthy, being a most useful summation of substantial legal issues, and the complex administrative activities and procedures of the United Nations. This chapter is now of increased interest to practitioners given Australia's ratification of the First Optional Protocol in December 1992 to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and the High Court's increasing tendency to have regard to international norms: see Mabo, per Brennan J at 175 CLR at 42.

The chapters on Constitutional Status and Criminal Justice Issues are valuable for different reasons. As to Constitutional Status, cutting-edge politico-legal questions of sovereignty, the treaty initiative, balance of federal-State powers and the appalling denial of citizenship and electoral rights are succinctly described with an eye to the rising significance of these issues. These also contain a valuable collection of citations. As to Criminal Justice Issues, critical issues of daily importance are traversed - arrest and police custody, admissions and their admissibility, sentencing discretions - with ample citation of judicial precedent and reference to the the two substantive (albeit largely un-enacted) relevant government reports of the last decade: the Australian Law Reform Commission's report on The Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Law (AGPS 1986) and the Reports of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (ALPS 1991). These sections guide the beginner and daily practitioner alike through a minefield of policy, reform recommendations, discretionary factors, and substantive common law and legislative provisions.

Some negatives must be mentioned. First, the publishers state that individual volumes are not purchasable. The set of 35 titles to be published in 32 volumes must be purchased as a unit at a basic price of $275 per volume, total $8,800. Such a policy and price puts this volume well beyond the resources of those lawyers who arguably would benefit most - solicitors and para-legals employed in Aboriginal legal services, land councils, community organisations and their recession-strapped legally-aided advocates. This is a pity since the scholarship and authoritative nature of the work should be read by and quoted to a wide audience.

Second, its large arch-file loose-leaf format is unnecessarily bulky and unwieldy. More seriously, with so much flux in this particular area, efficient up-dating will be important. However, Law Book advises that such up-dating services will not commence until about mid 1994, at a price and frequency to be determined thereafter. The law is stated in each available chapter as at 31 December 1992. A gap of 18 months to the first expected update is simply not good enough. Relying upon a built-in cross-referencing system to the publisher's companion publication - ALMD - is also unacceptable in terms of efficiency and cost.

The volume is well serviced with how-to-use instructions, an index and tables of cases and statutes. A bibliography of leading books and articles under the various chapter headings would complete this useful mixture of substantial scholarship and practical accessibility.