Peppercorn Magazine

A poem for Gaza and a demand for more from the Law. In memory of Refaat Alareer.

The Rule of Law in Gaza By Lola Archibald Because we were told so, we must liveTo watch you rule with a paper fistAnd wield your weapons - ink words that turn to mist. In our neat classrooms, we are at your feet We read your crafted words and heavy judgements Where you’ve made grand promises of Justice. Though outside ou...

The State Civil Liability (Police Informants) Act 2024: Unpacking Victoria’s response to the “Lawyer X” scandal

This article examines Victoria's State Civil Liability (Police Informants) Act 2024, introduced following the infamous Lawyer X scandal. Hugh McSweeny explores the Act's controversial compensation cap and its implications for civil rights and government accountability.

The State Civil Liability (Police Informants) Act 2024: Unpacking Victoria’s response to the “Lawyer X” scandal By Hugh McSweenyIn the aftermath of the Lawyer X scandal, where barrister Nicola Gobbo’s role as a police informant with Victoria Police unjustly affected multiple convictions, the Victorian government recently passed the State Civil Liability (Police Informants) Act 2024. The legislation was intr...

Spice Rack: A Law Student’s Review of… Brunch Society

Searching for a new club to spice up your campus life? Craving some free coffee? Or perhaps you're just here for the strange socks. Brunch club certainly has something for everyone. Get to know the 'Brunchfather' and what they'd do with a $10,000 dollar budget in this new series where Peppercorn explores the (not so secret) societies of ANU.

Spice Rack: A Law Student’s Review of… Brunch Society Spice rack is a Peppercorn News series profiling different ANU student clubs and interviewing prominent committee membersBy Adrian LuAs much as we here love our peppercorns, variety is the spice of life. So in this series we’ll be exploring the various clubs ANU has to offer- from the comforting t...

Poetry and the law? That can't be right! Tabitha McDonald reflects on the poetry of Natalie Harkin and the insights it provides into the constitutional case Kartinyeri v Commonwealth.

Peace Poetics: Literary Reflections on Kartinyeri v Commonwealth By Tabitha McDonaldRecently, my friend invited me to accompany her to an event hosted by the ANU. The event was called ‘First Nations Peace Poetics’. It wasn’t until we arrived at the event that she informed me it was a poetry reading. I leaned across my seat and asked her timidly if I was sup...

Absurd Aussie laws - From Potato Smuggling to Canberra’s Prohibition

Clickbait articles mocking bizarre laws are a dime a dozen, but have you ever wondered what wacky circumstances drove these seemingly pointless regulations? Join us as we explore how political machinations and corporate cost cutting gave rise to potato inspectors in WA, and the law tackling “fridge deaths” in South Australia.

Absurd Aussie laws - From Potato Smuggling to Canberra’s Prohibition By AnonymousEvery now and then, you’ll come across a law that seems truly bizarre, so incredibly specific that it seems ridiculous that a legislature would have wasted the time and breath required to craft it. While your first impulse may be to mock these monuments to law’s obsession with techni...

A man shares his thoughts about the Roman Republic. Shock Horror! What next, a podcast?

Why Socialist Alternative can’t defeat the far right and why the Roman Republic can By Raf PriestArt by Oli WienckeAnyone who's been strolling around campus recently will no doubt have seen the numerous posters for the upcoming edition of the Trotsky-ite drum circle. Our campus’ favourite vanguards of the revolution feel that ‘Liberalism can’t defeat the far right but the lef...

Leviathan (2014) film review

Are you into aesthetic shots of Arctic ocean that last uncomfortably long? Do you enjoy stark cinematography and biting dialogue that epitomise the existentialist angst of classic Russian literature? What's your opinion on local politicians? What about grossly corrupt ones who bend the judiciary into an instrument of their oppressive apparatus? Would it surprise you that this film, which was shot in 2013, features a parodic Putin cameo? Has he really been commandeering the Russian oligarchy for that long? If you have any thoughts whatsoever on the above questions, check out Peppercorn's review of Leviathan (2014).

Leviathan (2014) film review By Oli WienckeLeviathan director Andrei Zvyagintsev: ‘Living in Russia is like being in a minefield’. [1]A decade on from its release to critical acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival, Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan offers a solemn reflection on Russia’s post-Soviet ideological topography. Released i...

And my lawyer is...ChatGPT? How AI and Law are becoming one

With the emergence of AI, it is tempting to use it from researching essays to organising our daily routines– anything to make our gruelling lives a little bit easier. But what happens when AI leaks into the legal industry? Kiran Kaur explores the implications, both positive and negative, of the use of AI within the legal field, and ponders on the future of the law with the growing emergence of AI.

And my lawyer is...ChatGPT? How AI and Law are becoming one By Kiran KaurThree years ago, if I said the words CHATGPT, I’m sure that you would have thought I was discussing some random new fictional book or movie. Nowadays, however, it seems as though the AI platform is all people are discussing. ChatGPT has infiltrated our everyday life – from students ...

ECAs: What has ANU done now?

Peppercorn is encouraging anyone with positive or negative experiences with the new ECA system to share your story.

Want to share your experience with us? Please fill out the survey attached, or email [email protected]

Link to survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxXLGKzQvyR13Tu8BtPQ60quLrzHoCNGdd3M4r5VNlNEXO0Q/viewform?usp=sharing

ECAs: What has ANU done now? By Lara McKirdy Many students may now be aware that ANU replaced deferred examinations and special consideration with the ‘Extenuating Circumstances Application’ (ECA) in semester 2 2023.The goal of the system was to streamline extension/deferred exam/special consideration processes to take the ...

‼THEME DROP‼️
Edition 2 2024: GRAVITY - coming soon 🤩🔥💫

How Australia Appoints its High Court Judges (and everything wrong with it)

It’s 2024, and the US Supreme Court has handed down yet another ‘historic’ 6-3 verdict. As is customary, your friends are discussing the outrageous American judicial appointment process, when suddenly, someone asks: How do we appoint judges in Australia, anyway?

Record scratch. You don’t know.

Or at least Lola Archibald didn’t in this very situation. To avoid ever being similarly caught out, read her article uncovering the secretive world of Australian High Court appointments.

How Australia Appoints its High Court Judges (and everything wrong with it) By Lola ArchibaldIt’s 2024, and in another ‘historic’ 6-3 verdict, the US Supreme Court has made a decision described by the minority as ‘intolerable, unwarranted, and plainly antithetical to bedrock constitutional norms.’[1] As has become customary, you and your friends discuss both the o...

Learning to Let Go: Australia’s Journey Towards the Legalisation of Assisted Dying and the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2023 (ACT).

In June 2024, the ACT became Australia’s final jurisdiction to pass legislation with the effect of legalising medical euthanasia. Kai Tang recounts Australia’s long historical struggle with Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) and explores the practical implications of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2024 (ACT), touted as Australia’s most progressive VAD legislation to date.

Learning to Let Go: Australia’s Journey Towards the Legalisation of Assisted Dying and the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2023 (ACT). By Kai TangIntroduction The ethical and practical implications of assisted dying have been hotly debated topics across the world for the last forty years. The recently introduced Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2023 (ACT) has been championed as the most progressive instrument of its kind in Australia,...