Since a landmark decision has narrowed available claims against defendants under the Alien Tort Claims Act for alleged violations of customary international law US courts have sought to clarify exactly what geographical connection is required to justify a claim against corporate defendants Partner ...

Partner Richard Malcolmson and Senior Associates Emily Gerrard and Anna Vella report on recent developments in the Australian uranium sector including Queenslands framework for uranium mining the Western Australian regulators recommendation to proceed with uranium mining at Kintyre and the Federal ...

New legislation that seeks to establish a statutory framework for the access to and use of stormwater in Victoria is an attempt to increase the use of stormwater in urban areas and furthers the Victorian Governments policy of limiting the diversion of water from rural areas for urban use The process ...

The NSW Government has released for comment a draft amendment to its Statement Environmental Planning Policy for the Western Sydney Employment Area, targeted at meeting the expected demands of economic growth in the region. ...

The Supreme Court of Queensland recently considered whether liquidated damages in a standard form construction contract were a penalty In a decision that traversed long-held doctrines on penalties and recent developments in emAndrewsem and Paciocco the court ruled that the obligation to pay ...

The release of the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement has renewed the debate about the ability of foreign investors to sue governments under investor-State dispute settlement mechanisms which are commonly part of international trade agreements or investment treaties between States ...

Over the weekend in Paris two weeks of negotiations culminated in the adoption by all parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of a conference decision and Paris Agreement to address climate change The combined Paris Outcome commits parties to limit global temperature ...

Yesterday afternoon the Federal Court handed down a decision which for the first time provided judicial consideration of how to calculate native title compensation A decision on this issue has been long awaited ever since the Native Title Act commenced in 1994 Partner Ben Zillmann Senior Associate ...

A new infrastructure planning and charging framework for Queensland has been proposed by the State Government Special Counsel Rosanne Meurling and Senior Associate Michael Zissis report on the changes to be introduced by the new framework ...

After two years three rounds of public consultation and one aborted attempt Federal Parliament looks likely to pass legislation amending the rules governing when the Australian Taxation Office is required to refund excess GST to a taxpayer ...