A copy of the Royal Commission Report is available below. You will need to download it and read the pdf file.
Royal Commission of Inquiry into Chamberlain Convictions, Report, Commonwealth Parliamentary Papers (1987), volume 15, paper 192
In response to instances of miscarriages of justice and a need for better post-conviction review mechanisms, the United Kingdom (in 1997),[i] Scotland (in 1999),[ii] Norway (in 2004)[iii] and New Zealand (in 2020)[iv] have established a Criminal Cases Review Commission. On…
Political prosecutions are commonplace in authoritarian jurisdictions but they seen more in democracies now too. Their existence is a major problem and represent a crime against democracy.
Table of Contents McLeod-Lindsay Background Mr Alexander McLeod-Lindsay was born on 24 December 1934 and died on 17 September 2009. He was born in Scotland and migrated to Australia when he was16 years old. He came to Australia under the…
The media has followed the case since its inception. While the earlier reports were demonising, the later scientific evidence has raised the obvious question – did the court get it wrong? This question is not only raised in the Australian…
The most important requirement in all criminal trials is that the onus of establishing guilt is to the standard of beyond reasonable doubt. This standard of proof stays immovably with the prosecution throughout a trial. In Kathleen Folbigg’s case an essential element that needed to be proved beyond reasonable doubt was that she intended to kill or cause grievous bodily harm to her children.
The prosecution said that she smothered them, but failed to prove this was the case.
The way in which criminal cases involving potential injustice are dealt with in NSW is flawed and lead to serious problems – Kathleen Folbigg is an example of the systemic failure. An alternative approach is offered in this lecture.