Just Cause

Just Cause: Exploring Social Justice and the Law
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A podcast created by staff and students affiliated with the University of Sydney Law School's Social Justice Advisory Board. In each episode, students sit down with academics to discuss what social justice means to them, and how their work intersects with social justice goals. Through these conversations, we explore the meaning of social justice and highlight the range of social justice research being carried out by academics working in or affiliated with the University of Sydney Law School.

  1. Aug 31

    Charlotte Hanson: Video Games, Extremism and Australia’s eSafety Legislation

    How are children drawn into extremism through online video games? What regulatory framework exists to address this? How can we protect children from the harms of online gaming? In this episode, Just Cause co-director Eamonn Murphy speaks with PhD student Charlotte Hanson about the relationship between online video gaming and violent extremism, and how children are drawn into extremist spaces via gaming subcultures. We discuss how Australia’s eSafety legislation has become a model for regulating video gaming worldwide, but consider the limits of regulatory control when communications between gamers are taken off gaming platforms, and onto encrypted platforms such as Discord and Snapchat. Charlotte Hanson is a PhD candidate at Sydney Law School, and is passionate about criminology, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism and intelligence issues. She is a graduate of a Master of Criminology from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice from Griffith University, and her research interests are focused on the areas of online gaming, adjacent online platforms, extremism and terrorism with a focus on children.

    Charlotte Hanson: Video Games, Extremism and Australia’s eSafety Legislation

  2. Aug 24

    Mary Stewart: Medical Forensic Examinations, Sexual Assault Investigation Kits and Support for Victim-Survivors of Sexual Assault

    Did you know that NSW has comprehensive support services available to victim-survivors of sexual assault? How can you seek a medical forensic examination — with both medical and psychological care provided — from your local sexual assault service? In this episode, Just Cause co-director Eamonn Murphy speaks with Dr Mary Stewart about medical forensic sexual assault examinations, and how our health system provides support for victim-survivors of sexual assault. We discuss Mary’s research into how medical forensic examinations are perceived by patients,and consider how awareness of these support services can best be spread. If you need to seek support from a Sexual Assault Service, please phone 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732). The closest Sexual Assault Service to the University of Sydney is at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown: their daytime phone number is 9515 9040, and nighttime phone number is 9515 6111. Dr Mary Stewart is a PhD candidate at Sydney Law School, as well as a Senior Career Medical Officer working as a medical forensic examiner at Northern Sydney Sexual Assault Service. She has a Masters of Public Health (Health Promotion) from UNSW and a Masters of Forensic Medicine from Monash University, and holds a Graduate Certificate Medical and Forensic Management of Adult Sexual Assault from the Education Centre Against Violence. As mentioned in the episode, please see Mary’s article in The Conversation: I’m a medical forensic examiner. Here’s what people can expect from a health response after a sexual assault

    Mary Stewart: Medical Forensic Examinations, Sexual Assault Investigation Kits and Support for Victim-Survivors of Sexual Assault

  3. Aug 17

    Andreas Nathaniel: Indonesia, Criminal Codes and the Philosophy of Criminalisation

    Just this year, Indonesia enacted a new Criminal Code (the Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana) that purports to shed its Dutch colonial roots. However, does this Code criminalise conduct in a way that is proportionate? Or does it reach too far into Indonesians’ civil freedoms, “overcriminalising” conduct in an unreasonable way? In this episode, Just Cause co-director Eamonn Murphy speaks with PhD candidate Andreas Nathaniel about the January 2026 implementation of Indonesia’s criminal code, and how the Code fits within dominant theories of criminalisation. Andreas unpacks the nature of the Code itself, and how it criminalises conduct such as sexual relations and drug use in a way that is not necessarily compatible with typical approaches to criminalisation. We discuss the differences between the previous Dutch colonial code and its new replacement, the inconsistent enforcement of the criminal law by Indonesian authorities, and the possibility of reforming the Code to better serve Indonesians regardless of their social background. Andreas Nathaniel is a PhD candidate at Sydney Law School, as well as a criminal law lecturer and public policy professional with ten years of experience specializing in the field of Indonesian criminal law and policy. He has an LLM in Criminal Justice and Criminology at UNSW and an LLB from the University of Indonesia, and is interested in the topic of Indonesian anti-corruption policy, judicial sentencing, and corporate crimes.

    Andreas Nathaniel: Indonesia, Criminal Codes and the Philosophy of Criminalisation

  4. Apr 6

    Orla Kelleher: New Developments in Climate Litigation and Human Rights

    As the climate crisis continues to damage our world, how has environmental litigation evolved to address it? How do courts engage with the United Nations Framework on Climate Change? Can judicial review be an effective means of enforcing compliance with environmental law? In this episode, Sydney Law School PhD candidate Libby Newton speaks with Dr Orla Kelleher, Assistant Professor at Maynooth University's School of Law and Criminology, about how climate change litigation intersects with human rights, and on recent legal developments in the field. Drawing from Orla's experience in Irish, European and international environment law, this episode considers how claims under human rights law can intersect with climate change, and tackles how legal practitioners, academics and the judiciary can join efforts to combat the climate crisis. Dr Orla Kelleher joined Maynooth University's School of Law and Criminology in August 2022. Orla specialises in climate change, environmental, and human rights law. Her current research focuses on environmental rights, climate law and litigation, climate justice, and just transitions. Orla was awarded her Ph.D. without corrections from UCD Sutherland School of Law in March 2022. Her Ph.D. examined the impact of climate change on legal reasoning in rights-based systemic climate change litigation in European countries.

    Orla Kelleher: New Developments in Climate Litigation and Human Rights

  5. 12/08/2025

    Rachel Killean and Lauren Dempster: Gaza, Environmental Damage and Green Transitional Justice

    How can the damage inflicted by Israel on Palestine’s natural environment be framed as a violation of international law? When responding to conflict, how can nature be properly valued in the delivery of transitional justice? What, then, could "green transitional justice” mean for Palestine and its natural environment? In this final episode of Just Cause’s third season, LLB student Eamonn Murphy speaks with Dr Rachel Killean and Dr Lauren Dempster about their new book, Green Transitional Justice, and their ecocentric approach to transitional justice that seeks to properly redress harms to nature. We consider how green transitional justice functions at large, and how it needs to be driven by Indigenous and grassroots voices, before ending with a discussion of how we might practically apply the principles of green transitional justice with respect to Palestine in the context of Israel’s ongoing military assault. Dr Rachel Killean is a Senior Lecturer and the current Associate Dean for Student Life in Sydney Law School. Dr Lauren Dempster is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law and Fellow of the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. Their new book, Green Transitional Justice, is available here: https://www.routledge.com/Green-Transitional-Justice/Killean-Dempster/p/book/9781032206202. Note: in Lauren's application of green transitional justice to Palestine, she refers to several papers that inform her response. Please see links to them below. Research by Irus Braverman on Israel’s control of nature of Palestine as an element of the settler-colonial project: https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517915261/settling-nature/. Research by Rehab Nazzal on the importance of olive trees for Palestinians: https://revistas.usal.es/dos/index.php/2254-1179/article/view/27675. Report by the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies: https://arava.org/shared-environments-shared-futures/

    Rachel Killean and Lauren Dempster: Gaza, Environmental Damage and Green Transitional Justice

  6. 12/01/2025

    Colin King: Following the Money – Does Financial Crime Law Deliver Justice?

    Governments spend billions each year fighting money laundering and terrorist financing, but do these regimes actually make the world fairer or simply more complicated? In this episode, LLB Student Joshua Mortensen speaks with Professor Colin King, a financial crime expert at Sydney Law School, about whether anti money laundering and counter terrorism financing regulations truly serve justice. Colin King is a Professor at Sydney Law School. Originally from Limerick, Ireland - where he completed his LLB and PhD - Colin then moved to the UK for 14 years before arriving in Sydney in 2023. His research focuses on financial crime, particularly money laundering; proceeds of crime; and deferred prosecution agreements.

    Colin King: Following the Money – Does Financial Crime Law Deliver Justice?

  7. 11/03/2025

    David Kinley: Asbestos, Human Rights and Corporate Responsibility

    How can we hold corporations to their human rights obligations? When it comes to multinational asbestos-mining corporations such as Cape and James Hardie, do arguments of forum non conveniens and separate legal personality hold up? Could a simple claim in negligence be the best way to redress human rights violations? In this episode, Just Cause co-director and LLB V student Eamonn Murphy speaks with Professor David Kinley, the Chair in Human Rights Law at Sydney Law School, about the intersection between corporate responsibility and human rights law. Drawing from David’s new book, In a Rain of Dust: Death, Deceit and the Lawyer Who Busted Big Asbestos, we consider the case of Lubbe v Cape, brought in 1995 by grassroots lawyer Richard Meeran against Cape Plc, a British company that mined and milled asbestos in apartheid-era South Africa, causing innumerable deaths from asbestos-related diseases among local workers and their communities. While the case is largely seen as one about jurisdiction in private international law and tort liability in the context of a corporate group, we examine what it has to say about human rights — how, as David phrases it, can you cut a human rights cloth? Find out in this episode! Professor David Kinley holds the Chair in Human Rights Law at the University of Sydney Law School. He is also an Academic Expert Member of Doughty Street Chambers in London, a member of the Australian Council for Human Rights, a member of the Human Rights Council of Australia and a board member of Cisarua, an Afghan refugee-led education centre located in Bogor, Indonesia.

    David Kinley: Asbestos, Human Rights and Corporate Responsibility

  8. 10/06/2025

    Natalie Silver: Foreign Aid, Private Philanthropy and Global Justice

    As governments like Australia and the US scale back their commitments to international assistance, what power structures are left in place when billionaires and foundations step in? How do tax laws shape how cross-border philanthropy flows? How can charities best operate on an international level? In this episode, LLB students Sphe Shembe and Joshua Mortensen speak with Associate Professor Natalie Silver about the global retreat from state-funded foreign aid and the expanding role of private philanthropy. Together, we explore how tax frameworks shape global justice efforts — and what reforms might be needed to ensure philanthropy serves equity, not just influence. Dr Natalie Silver is an Associate Professor at Sydney Law School whose research focuses on charity law, not-for-profits, and the regulation of philanthropy. She has published widely on cross-border giving and the role of tax incentives in structuring charitable flows, particularly in an era of global inequality and declining aid. Suggested Readings: Silver, Natalie and McGregor-Lowndes, Myles and Tarr, Julie-Anne, Should Tax Incentives for Charitable Giving Stop at Australia's Borders? (March 20, 2017). Sydney Law Review, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 85-120, 2016, Sydney Law School Research Paper No. 17/24, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2937531. Silver, Natalie and Buijze, Renate, Tax Incentives for Cross-Border Giving in an Era of Philanthropic Globalization: A Comparative Perspective (November 1, 2020). Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law, 6(1), 2020, pp.109-150, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3765102.

    Natalie Silver: Foreign Aid, Private Philanthropy and Global Justice
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About

A podcast created by staff and students affiliated with the University of Sydney Law School's Social Justice Advisory Board. In each episode, students sit down with academics to discuss what social justice means to them, and how their work intersects with social justice goals. Through these conversations, we explore the meaning of social justice and highlight the range of social justice research being carried out by academics working in or affiliated with the University of Sydney Law School.

Information

  • Creator
    Just Cause: Exploring Social Justice and the Law
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    47
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Just Cause