Law Commons^™

How Should Religious Marriage Celebrants Respond If Same Sex Marriage Is Introduced In Australia?, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

This paper discusses some of the implications for religious freedom, and the consequences for churches and other religious bodies, should same sex marriage be introduced into Australia.

Freedom Of Religion And Balancing Clauses In Discrimination Legislation, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

This paper considers how discrimination laws interact with religious freedom through balancing clauses.

Religious Freedom In Australia, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Vicarious Liability And Non-Delegable Duty In Common Law Actions Based On Institutional Child Abuse, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

The paper discusses the options for holding institutions civilly liable for child sexual abuse. In particular it suggests that the law of non-delegable duty ought to be extended to intentional torts like battery.

Unscrambling The Curate’S Egg- The High Court’S Act Same Sex Marriage Decision, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Discusses and critiques the decision of the High Court of Australia in the ACT Same Sex Marriage case [2013] HCA 55.

High Court Of Australia Declines Leave To Appeal Cyc V Cobaw, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Discusses the recent decision of the High Court to refuse special leave to appeal in CYC v Cobaw, and implications of the decision for religious freedom in Australia.

Law And Religion In The Victorian Court Of Appeal, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Briefly notes the decision in Cobaw v CYC (2014) and suggests reason why the High Court should grant special leave to appeal.

Some Thoughts On Law, Religious Freedom And The “Commercial Sphere”, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Discusses the question of religious freedom in the commercial sphere.

Discrimination, Language And Freedom Of Religion: Two Important Law And Religion Decisions In Australia, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

The paper discusses two important recent cases at an appellate level in Australia raising issues to do with the intersection of law and religious commitment. One deals with discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation and whether religious groups should enjoy religious freedom to decline to support a non-Biblical view of sexual morality. The other deals with whether the members of a church can assert religious freedom rights against the leaders of the church.

New Anti-Discrimination Laws 'Erode Religious Freedom', Neil J. Foster, Katherine Towers

Neil J Foster

A newspaper report on the recent Victorian Cobaw case with comments from me on the issues.

Christian Youth Camp Liable For Declining Booking From Homosexual Support Group, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Discusses the decision on appeal in Christian Youth Camps Limited & Ors v Cobaw Community Health Service Limited & Ors [2014] VSCA 75 (16 April 2014) and its implication for Christian organisations.

Submission On S 18c Reforms, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

A copy of my submission to the Commonwealth Attorney-General concerning amendments to s 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 on racial vilification

Arizona's New Religious Freedom Law: License To Discriminate Against Gays?, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Discusses Arizona's controversial new Bill which has been labelled a "license to discriminate". The paper concludes that while the aim of crafting a religious freedom exemption for those who do not want to support or celebrate same sex unions is a laudable one, on balance the Arizona law seems to be too broad and should not be supported.

Recent Uk Case Connected With Sexual Orientation “Hate Speech”, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Discusses the decision in R (On the Application Of Core Issues Trust) v Transport for London [2014] EWCA Civ 34 (27 January 2014) dealing with signs on London buses alleged to be "homophobic".

Legal Pressure Points For Christians In 21st Century Australia, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

This paper discusses the pressures facing Christians who adhere to Biblical ethical values when those principles clash with current discrimination and vilification laws.

Religious Anti-Vilification Laws: Gatekeeping Freedom Of Religion And Freedom Of Speech In Australia, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Freedom of religion and freedom of speech, two fundamental human rights, intersect and may clash when the law prohibits “vilification” of others on the basis of their religion, especially if the word is defined broadly enough to include mere offence or annoyance. The paper addresses the current state of religious “anti-vilification” laws in Australia, and recent important appellate decisions on freedom of speech, to discuss whether current laws adequately provide an appropriate balance in this important area of public life.

Jesus: Dead Or Alive? Evaluating The Evidence For The Resurrection (2013), Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

This paper (a slightly updated version of one I produced a few years ago) considers how the rules that courts use to evaluate evidence, can be used to evaluate the truth of the claim that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead.

Freedom Of Religion And Law Schools: Trinity Western University, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Discusses the recent controversy over whether a Christian Law School in Canada should be allowed to require students and faculty to agree to adhere to Biblical morality in their behaviour; and whether this should preclude graduates from being admitted as lawyers.

Decision In Eweida, Ladele Etc Appeal, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

A brief overview of the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights on freedom of religion in the UK.

Christian Staff Group Poster 2013, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Door poster for the Newcastle Christian Staff Group 2013.

Freedom Of Religion For Boarding House Owners Denied, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Discusses the decision of the English Court of Appeal in Bull & Bull v Hall & Preddy [2012] EWCA Civ 83 (10 Feb 2012) that owners of a boarding house cannot refuse double bed accommodation to a same-sex couple, though they have refused such accommodation to heterosexual couples for many years.

New Workplace Safety Laws And Church Volunteers, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Will church volunteers face jail under tough new OHS laws? Has this nefarious legislation stripped ordained ministers of their centuries-old status as “servants of God”? Yes to both, if you believe Imre Salusinszky’s article in The Australian (Jan 18, 2012). In fact neither proposition is true.

Can A Church Dismiss A Pastoral Worker Without Taking Into Account Discrimination Legislation?, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Discusses the decision of the US Supreme Court in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v EEOC (2012) that a church is not bound by discrimination law in its dealings with its own ministers.

Banning Churches From Meeting In New York Public Schools, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Discusses and critiques a recent US court decision upholding the banning of a church meeting in a public school on the weekend.

Freedom Of Religion In Practice: Exemptions Under Antidiscrimination Laws On The Basis Of Religion., Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Recognition of “human rights” often involves the need to balance one set of rights against another. While anti‐discrimination laws generally are designed to outlaw decision‐making on irrelevant grounds, recognition of “freedom of religion” (a clear human right acknowledged in the international covenants on the area) requires acknowledging that decision‐making in many areas on religious grounds is not irrelevant, and hence requires careful crafting of appropriate exemptions to otherwise blanket prohibitions against discrimination. But in many ways there has been a subtle shift in recent decades away from a fully‐orbed recognition of human rights, towards an absolutist prohibition of discrimination alone. …

Freedom Of Religion In Practice: Exemptions Under Anti-Discrimination Laws On The Basis Of Religion, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Recognition of “human rights” often involves the need to balance one set of rights against another. While anti‐discrimination laws generally are designed to outlaw decision‐making on irrelevant grounds, recognition of “freedom of religion” (a clear human right acknowledged in the international covenants on the area) requires acknowledging that decision‐making in many areas on religious grounds is not irrelevant, and hence requires careful crafting of appropriate exemptions to otherwise blanket prohibitions against discrimination. But in many ways there has been a subtle shift in recent decades away from a fully‐orbed recognition of human rights, towards an absolutist prohibition of discrimination alone. …

Opposing Same-Sex Marriage Is Not Discrimination, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

This paper argues that is not "discriminatory" to oppose the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

Further Uk Developments On Freedom Of Religion, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

Two further UK cases, Eweida and MacFarlane, reveal dismissal of Christians for exercise of freedom of religion, and difficulties with the way the law is being applied in the UK.

Defamation And Vilification: Rights To Reputation, Free Speech And Freedom Of Religion At Common Law And Under Human Rights Laws, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

For many years the common law of defamation, and statutory amendments to it, have protected a person’s reputation in the community, in the sense of the right not be denigrated in the eyes of others. While this involves a restriction on another powerful common law principle of “freedom of speech” (see the discussion in the High Court of Australia decision in Australian Broadcasting Corporation v O’Neill (2006) 227 CLR 57), a complex set of checks and balances have been developed to cope with this clash. The issues as to whether a person has a right not to be “vilified” (and …

Statutory Construction And Biblical Hermeneutics- Law In The Service Of The Gospel?, Neil J. Foster

Neil J Foster

This paper explores the connections between the principles that judges use to interpret statutes, and the principles used by Biblical scholars to interpret the Bible.