- Wrongful arrest and imprisonment
- Self representation service
- Pensioner Mortgage Default
- Caxton Legal Centre
- ACRATH
- Fairtrade
- HRLRC
- Hagar International
Wrongful arrest and imprisonment
Over the past two years, a team of Allens lawyers has acted for two young people in bringing a claim against the State of New South Wales for wrongful arrest and imprisonment.
The matter was referred to Allens as a part of the Children in Detention Advocacy Project, a joint initiative of Legal Aid, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and the Public Law Clearing House, focusing on the unlawful use by some police of the power of arrest to summarily punish children. The claims arose from allegations that certain police officers in western Sydney had arrested the plaintiffs on a number of occasions for breach of bail conditions, when in fact no breach had occurred, and had carried out a strip search of one of the plaintiffs without complying with the applicable legislation's legal safeguards and in an otherwise unlawful and humiliating manner.
Proceedings were commenced in November 2009, and in early 2010 the matter settled, with the plaintiffs receiving compensation for the repeated deprivation of their liberty and for physical and psychiatric injuries sustained.
Self representation service
Navigating the legal system is a daunting task for those who do not have the finances to obtain the assistance of a solicitor.
The Self Represented Civil Law Service is an entity run by Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House Incorporated to provide advice to litigants who are representing themselves, by choice or necessity, in civil proceedings in the Supreme and District Courts.
Our lawyers assist by sitting down with self-represented litigants, and providing them with advice on procedural aspects of the litigation. The service provides an invaluable service not only to these self-represented litigants, but also to the courts in general.
Pensioner Mortgage Default
In February 2010, Allens successfully settled a matter concerning a pensioner who had defaulted on his mortgage repayments.
After finding himself unable to meet payments under his previous mortgage, the pensioner refinanced his loan through a company that lent money through a managed investment scheme. No evidence of income or capacity to make repayments was ever obtained by the finance company. The matter was complicated by the fact that the mortgage was greater than the value of the properties, with $2.5 million owed and the most recent offer for sale of the properties being $1.95 million.
Our team reached a settlement with the lender, pursuant to which our client surrendered title to the properties to the finance company and the finance company paid him $40,000. The financiers agreed to pay the outstanding council rates and land tax, and did not seek to recover the shortfall from the sale of the properties.
Caxton Legal Centre
ACRATH
Fairtrade
Allens acted for Fairtrade Labelling Australia and New Zealand (FLANZ) on its licence agreements with two major confectionary companies, Cadbury and Nestlé. The licence agreements allow Cadbury and Nestlé to use the Fairtrade certification mark on some of their products that contain fair trade ingredients.
The term 'fair trade' describes a system where producers or farmers, mostly in developing countries, receive fair payment for their goods, thereby allowing the producers and farmers to improve their lives and plan for the future. It also promotes sustainability, and aims to minimise child labour and trafficking.
For both Nestlé and Cadbury, the relevant fair trade ingredient in products is cocoa. For Cadbury, it is their Green & Blacks range and their Cadbury Dairy Milk products that contain the Fairtrade-certified cocoa.
The cocoa in the Cadbury Dairy Milk products is sourced from a Fairtrade-certified supply chain in Ghana. According to FLANZ, as a result of the certification in five markets (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, and Ireland) for the Cadbury Dairy Milk products, Fairtrade cocoa sales in Ghana will quadruple, adding an additional 15,000 tonnes – from 5,000 tonnes in 2008 to 20,000 tonnes in 2010.
For FLANZ, entering into the agreements with major confectionary companies, such as Nestlé and Cadbury, means that the concept of fair trade is shifting into the mainstream. By purchasing products that bear the Fairtrade certification label, consumers are able to impact directly on poor and disadvantaged producers, their families and their communities.
Sorting Fairtrade coffee beans at the Highland Organic Agriculture Cooperative in Papua New Guinea Image: Maria Trogolo/Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand
HRLRC
Submissions on Electoral Reform and ESC Rights
Allens works closely with the Human Rights Law Resource Centre (HRLRC). The HRLRC is a community legal centre, based in Melbourne, which aims to ensure that human rights are respected and exercised in Australia. It does this by undertaking a range of activities including policy analysis, advocacy, litigation, education and training.
ESC rights policy papers
The Perth, Melbourne and Sydney offices have been assisting the HRLRC with preparing policy papers, which will contribute to the upcoming review of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights. The Charter currently protects largely civil and political rights and the review will consider the expansion of the Charter's protection to include economic, social and cultural rights. Allens is assisting with preparing policy papers on the right to health and right to education.
These papers will serve an education function, providing an overview of how the rights are currently protected in Victoria and overseas, how these rights might be protected if the Charter were expanded, and the practical effect of legislative protection.
Electoral reform submission
In late 2009, Allens assisted the HRLRC to make a submission in response to the Federal Government's green paper on electoral reform. Allens lawyers and partners from the Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne offices collaborated to comment on proposals relating to prisoner voting rights, the rights of individuals of unsound mind and the value of lowering the voting age.
Hagar International
Hagar International has been operating in South East Asia (primarily in Cambodia) for 16 years, developing a long-term assistance program for its beneficiaries (abused, exploited and rejected women and children), combining both social rehabilitation and economic empowerment.
In 2009, Hagar Vietnam was launched in response to the growing incidences of violence and human trafficking in Vietnam and the lack of services available for victims. The organisation uses a capacity-building approach alongside local partners to deliver a specialised model of training and care, with enterprise partners who provide job training support and placement for Hagar's beneficiaries in Vietnam.
Allens has been fortunate enough to be involved with Hagar Vietnam since the early stages of its decision to launch its programs in Vietnam. The firm assisted Hagar with a review of its memorandum of understanding with Vietnam's Women's Union Centre for Women and Development that officially launched Hagar Vietnam's activities.
The firm also provided Hagar Vietnam with advice on personal income tax as a charitable entity, as well as having conducted a review of Hagar's local employment contracts and human resources manual.
Hagar Vietnam is enormously grateful to Allens. In the past year, we've
benefited from your generous pro bono legal assistance as we've worked alongside
women who are at the highest risk of exploitation and abuse. At Hagar Vietnam,
we sincerely appreciate your professional legal advice and commend your clear
commitment to support extremely disadvantaged women. We look forward to
continuing cooperation and welcome future opportunities to promote practical
involvement of the Allens team in our program activities.
Agnes Lam, Country Representative of Hagar Vietnam