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Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law

2010

Washington International Law Journal

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Disproportionate Disenfranchisement Of Aboriginal Prisoners: A Conflict Of Law That Australia Should Address, Megan A. Winder Apr 2010

Disproportionate Disenfranchisement Of Aboriginal Prisoners: A Conflict Of Law That Australia Should Address, Megan A. Winder

Washington International Law Journal

In 2006, Australia’s Parliament banned all prisoners from voting. A year later, Vickie Lee Roach, a female prisoner of Aboriginal descent, challenged the blanket ban promulgated in the 2006 amendment to the Commonwealth Electoral Act of 1918 (“Electoral Act”). Vickie won, but in a limited way. The High Court found an implied right to vote in the Australian Constitution, but held that Parliament could limit such voting, as it did in the Electoral and Referendum Amendment of 2004 (“E & R Amendment”), disenfranchising any prisoner serving three or more years in jail. This Comment argues that the E & R …


Fee Simple Estate And Footholds In Fishing: The Australian High Court's Formalistic Interpretation Of The Aboriginal Land Rights Act, Heather Ahlstrom Coldwell Apr 2010

Fee Simple Estate And Footholds In Fishing: The Australian High Court's Formalistic Interpretation Of The Aboriginal Land Rights Act, Heather Ahlstrom Coldwell

Washington International Law Journal

The coast of the Northern Territory in Australia boasts some of the world’s best fishing and hosts a lucrative commercial fishing industry. The Northern Territory is also home to over 50,000 Aboriginal people who rely on these waters for their subsistence and livelihood. However, the Aboriginal population is effectively barred from participating in the commercial fishing industry by Territory regulations and economic disadvantage. In July 2008, ten years of litigation over access to coastal waters adjoining Aboriginal land in the Northern Territory culminated with the High Court’s decision in Northern Territory of Australia v. Arnhem Land Aboriginal Trust. The …