Latest news
Longstanding local practitioner welcomed as new Local Court Judge
Law Society Northern Territory (Society) welcomes the announcement of the appointment of Meredith Day Huntingford as a judge of the Local Court.
National Indigenous Legal Conference & Indigenous Health Justice Conference 2019
13-14 August Darwin
Now in its 14th year, the National Indigenous Legal Conference brings together lawyers, academics, students and related professionals from across Australia. This year’s theme is True Justice: Integrating Indigenous Perspectives.
Territory Families loses its nerve on Royal Commission recommendations
More children in the Northern Territory will be driven into the criminal justice system if recommendations from the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory are ignored and watered down, the Law Society Northern Territory (the Society) has warned.
Territory Government needs to move on pathways to Justice recommendations
28 March 2019
The Law Society Northern Territory (the Society) supports the call today by the Law Council of Australia for the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments to respond to and implement recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) Pathways to Justice Report.
The Society’s President, Maria Savvas, said “The Pathways to Justice report was released a year ago today and its recommendations offer measures to address the over-incarceration of Indigenous people. This issue continues to be of serious concern in the Northern Territory with our incarcerated youth being almost exclusively Indigenous and our adult prisons filled with disproportionately high numbers of Indigenous people.”
“One recommendation of the Pathways to Justice report was the abolition of mandatory sentencing. This Territory government made a commitment prior to its election to abolish mandatory sentencing and more than 2 years later the community is still waiting for the government to honour its promise.”, Ms Savvas said.
NT Government’s ‘unacceptable’ Don Dale backflip fails young people and community
Tuesday 26th March 2019
The Law Society Northern Territory and Law Council of Australia have called on the Gunner government to honour its commitment to replace the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre with a new purpose-built facility as a matter of urgency.
The Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Territory, released in November 2017, recommended Don Dale be closed and replaced to protect the safety and rights of children in detention.
The NT Government promised to implement all 227 Royal Commission recommendations, however, a year on Don Dale remains.