This page contains information about upcoming seminars, conferences, annual meetings, workshops and calls for papers which may be of interest to professionals and academics in the field of criminology and related disciplines.

Organisations are encouraged to submit information about events currently being organised, so that we may publicise them on this page and in our journal, Current Issues in Criminal Justice. >If you would like to be included on our mailing list for seminar information please email your details to us. Forthcoming Seminar Decriminalising Physician-Assisted Suicide Professor Stanley Yeo, National University of Singapore Monday 25 August 5:30pm The principal contention of this seminar is that people suffering from a terminal illness causing intolerable pain (including emotional pain) should be given a choice to decide where, when and how to die. Since voluntary euthanasia remains highly controversial, the next best measure is to decriminalise physician-assisted suicide under certain strict conditions. The seminar will utilise the laws of India and Oregon to bring out the issues and concerns arising from this proposal, which will provide the platform upon which to discuss the position in Australia. About Professor Yeo: During his academic career spanning 27 years, Professor Yeo has taught in Australia, Canada, Japan and Singapore and published extensively in the fields of criminal law and criminal justice. In 2003, Professor Yeo was awarded a Doctor of Laws by Sydney University for his substantial contribution to legal scholarship in the area of criminal defences in the common law world. After being co-General Editor of the Criminal Law Journal for many years, Professor Yeo has been appointed Chief Editor of the Singapore Journal of Legal Studies from January 2008. Held at University of Sydney Law School 173-175 Phillip Street, Sydney Minter Ellison Room, Level 13 This seminar is free. Please click here to register, or contact Rachel Miller at r.miller@usyd.edu.au or 02 9351 0239. Click here for map of Law School Location. Nearest parking stations: Domain Car Park. Enter via St Mary's Road. Closes 9:00pm. MLC Centre Car Park. Enter via King Street. Closes 10:00pm. Nearest train stations: Martin Place and St James     Recent Seminar in the Beyond Punishment Series:   'Faith-based interventions - the role of religion in corrections' Thursday 27 March 2008 Sydney University Law School Religion and spirituality have long played a central practical and symbolic role in rehabilitation and reconciliation and this role has been highlighted in moves to more restorative justice processes. The seminar participants discussed the role of faith-based interventions in corrections and explored any effects they may have on such issues as recidivism. Chair: Dr Murray Lee, Co-Director, Institute of Criminology Commentator: Associate Professor Eileen Baldry, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales. Eileen is also a spokesperson for 'Beyond Bars'. Speakers: Father Michael Whelan SM, Principal of the Aquinas Academy in Sydney. Michael is also the author of numerous books and journal articles on spirituality and is the co-founder of 'Spirituality in the Pub'. Nada Roude. Nada has had extensive experience in working with Arab and Muslim communities. She is the founder of a number of women's organisations such as the Muslim Women's Association, the Arabic Women's Federation and the first Muslim women's refuge. Nada currently works as a cross-cultural trainer and educator. Judge Chris Geraghty, Judge of the NSW District Court. Judge Geraghty was a Catholic priest for 14 years before he left the priesthood in 1976. Commentator: Reverend Rodney Moore, Chaplaincy Co-ordinator, NSW Department of Corrective Services. *A public seminar in the Beyond Punishment series, engaging in critical debate about prisons, community programs and related issues, co-sponsored by the NSW Department of Corrective Services. Date: Thursday, 27 March 2008, 5.30pm - 7.30 pm Venue: Assembly Hall, Level 4 (entry level), Sydney University Law School, 173-175 Phillip Street, Sydney Contact Rachel Miller 02 9351 0239 or r.miller@usyd.edu.au   Recent Seminars Understanding the Significance of Sentencing in International Criminal Justice Speaker: Professor Ralph Henham Professor of Criminal Justice at Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University UK 26 February 2008 5.30pm The idea that international sentencing might be instrumental in helping to promote reconciliation and peace in societies ravaged by war or social conflict is superficially attractive. However, beyond the political rhetoric of international relations it is difficult to visualise exactly what this might mean, except in purely abstract terms. The problem stems from the fact that our perceptions of 'international criminal justice' are relative and contextual, so that it appears futile to argue that it has some kind of instrumental force having significance at both the international and local level. However, this is exactly what we, as individuals and citizens, are led to believe. The structures purporting to deliver 'international criminal justice' and the values it represents are depicted as universally relevant and its outcomes applicable wherever international crimes are alleged to have been committed, irrespective of context. In order to deconstruct this myth Professor Henham highlights some of the problems which afflict sentencing in international criminal trials, and goes on to suggest that there are several obstacles which appear to hamper the notion that 'international penality' as currently conceived might be viewed as an instrumental force for achieving 'justice'. This evaluation acts as a precursor to a tentative analysis of its ability to function as an elemental component of international criminal justice governance, especially in terms of its capacity to fulfil the mandate of achieving 'justice' so often attributed to it. Tuesday 26 February 5.30-6.30pm Minter Ellison Conference Room, Level 13, University of Sydney Law School 173-175 Phillip Street Sydney   SUPERMAX : Past and Present Wednesday 24 October 2007 Sydney University Law School Port Arthur, Norfolk Island, Jika Jika, Goulbourn - in the long and dark history of Australian corrections names like these are associated with prisons where the "worst of the worst" of the nation's criminals have been housed. At the seminar the latest addition to the Institute of Criminology Series, Imprisoning Resistance - Life and Death in an Australian Supermax by Bree Carlton, was released. Speakers: Carol Berry Health Solicitor, Public Interest Advocacy Centre Carol's research into supermax prisons focuses on a number of issues, such as the prevalence of mental illness in prison, the quality of treatment currently available for the mentally ill in prison, and the status of "forensic patients", who are generally those found not guilty on the grounds of mental illness within the corrections system. Michael Walton NSW Council for Civil Liberties Michael Walton is the author of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties' recent Shadow Report to the UN Committee against Torture. The Shadow Report recommended that the Special Rapporteur on Torture visit the High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn to investigate recurring complaints of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Bernie Matthews Author of Intractable Bernie Matthews is a convicted bank robber and prison escapee who has served time for armed robbery and prison escapes in NSW (1969-1980) and Queensland (1996-2000). During his period of incarceration Bernie Matthews studied journalism and received scholarships to study as an external student at the University of Southern Queensland. He is the author of the award winning stories The Crime and Prison Movie Genre Showcase Only Rare True Success and Abuse Within Prisons makes Prisoners More Violent Upon Release. Commentator Professor David Brown teaches criminal justice courses at the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law. He has written extensively on prisons and criminal law. Date: Wednesday 24 October 2007 Time: 5.30pm - 7.00 pm Venue: Minter Ellison Conference Room, Level 13, Sydney University Law School, 173-175 Phillip Street, Sydney Registration: $20 waged/$10 concession (students and pensioners); free to Institute of Criminology Members Contact: Rachel Miller r.miller@usyd.edu.au 02 9351 0239 Institute Membership : click here for information Imprisoning Resistance by Bree Carlton: purchasing information

This Series engages in critical debate about prisons, community programs and related issus. Co-sponsored by the NSW Department of Corrective Services.

For information on past seminars in the series see the
Beyond Punishment Series page.

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For further information contact Rachel Miller at r.miller@usyd.edu.au or 02 9351 0239.

Recent Conference

Australasian Teaching Critical Criminology Conference Friday 13 July 2007 Hosted by the University of Sydney Institute of Criminology and the University of NSW Crime and Justice Research Network Speakers: • Professor J Pratt, Victoria University (NZ) • Professor Mark Findlay, University of Sydney • Professor David Brown, University of NSW • Professor Chris Cunneen, University of NSW • Professor Julie Stubbs, University of Sydney • Dr Mark Halsey, University of Melbourne • Associate Professor Jude McCulloch, Monash University • Dr Bree Carlton, Monash University • Dorothea Anthony, UTS • Mike Grewcock, UNSW • Elizabeth Stanley, Victoria University (NZ) • Dr B Hocking, QUT • Dr Scott Guy, Griffith University Click here for Conference Program Click here for abstracts and bios This is the first Australasian Critical Criminology conference. It provides a forum for criminologists who analyse the sociological and ideological functions of the criminal justice system. In particular, it aims to bring together academics, researchers, teachers and students to consider new directions in teaching Critical Criminology. The conference draws on recent research in a broad range of theoretical and applied criminologies. It delves into basic concepts of critical criminology that displace orthodox approaches to crime and its methodologies and crime and notions of harm, morality and psychology. It presents work on state crime and issues of torture, genocide and refugees. It covers law and order ideologies as they relate to policing and imprisonment and engages alternative approaches to restorative justice in the domestic and the international criminal justice contexts. Internationally renowned criminologists presented papers that highlight the role of research-led teaching. It drew on current issues and dynamic case studies that cross a broad range of criminology courses in Australasia. Held at University of Sydney Law School 173-175 Phillip Street, Sydney Click here for map of Law School Location. Accommodation: Click here for details of accommodation in Sydney. Nearest parking stations: Domain Car Park. Enter via St Mary's Road. Closes 9:00pm. MLC Centre Car Park. Enter via King Street. Closes 10:00pm. Nearest train stations: Martin Place and St James Contact for general inquiries, Institute of Criminology law.criminology@usyd.edu.au

 

Recent Seminars

Aboriginal-Focused Correctional Centres, 15 August 2007

Compulsory Drug Treatment Orders, 9 May 2007

What is a Crime?, 4 April 2007

Criminal Regulation of Property Relations, 3 April 2007

Masters of Fact and Law? A Place for Juries in Sentencing 4 October 2006

The legal system's response to sexual assault - Do specialist courts offer the best way forward? 5 Sept 2006

Australians and the Death Penalty: National and International Dimensions, 7 June 2006

A complete list of previous seminars is available.
Previous seminar topics include: women's human rights; Juvenile Justice; Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System; Refugees and Race; Homelessness and Criminal Justice; Truth & Reconciliation; Ethnicity & Crime and the Use of DNA in the Criminal Justice System.

Papers are available for many of these seminars.

The Law Faculty at the University of Sydney runs events and seminars

The Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra
website contains  conference and seminar information

Crime and Justice Research Network (UNSW), events

Regulatory Institutions Network (RegNet): current events

Jury Research and Practice Conference, 11 December 2007, Parliament House,
Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW, Registration Form

Engendering Leadership' Conference, 22-24 July 2008, The University of Western Australia, website

Young People, Crime and Community Safety: engagement and early intervention Conference, 25-26 February 2008, website

Criminology: linking theory, policy and practice - 21st annual conference of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology, 25-28 November 2008, Canberra, website

The Criminal Pursuit: Thinking about crime across the disciplines, An Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Conference, 28 November 2007, website

The American Society of Criminology website contains international conference and seminar information

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY, Annual Meeting 2007, Atlanta, Georgia, November 14-17, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, CRIME AND JUSTICE: IN THE GLOBAL AND IN THE LOCAL, website

15th World Congress of Criminology, 20-25 July 2008, Barcelona, Spain, website

Invisibilities: The Politics, Practice and Experience of Surveillance in Everyday Life, International Conference hosted by The Centre of Criminological Research, University of Sheffield in association with The Surveillance Studies Network, 2-3 April 2008, website