Bent into Security: Barrister Contribution to a Skewed Order in Two Terrorism Prosecutions in Australia

This article explores two terrorism prosecutions – R v. Benbrika and Ors and R v. Elomar and Ors – to probe how Australian lawyers approach the integration of national security interests into the heart of public law. A brief background is provided followed by an analysis of how the Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002 (Cth), as amended, and the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (Cth) deviate from the legal order to produce a ‘skewed blend’ between national security and criminal justice. We examine three ways in which barristers contribute to bending of process in counter‐terrorism trials: accommodation to the precautionary standard, the resetting of equality of arms expectations, and brokered agreements that depend on the deferential relationships within the court. Consequently, the moral asymmetry of terrorism is the backdrop for the ‘plausible legality’ of ‘just world’ derogations from liberal politics.     

Benefits,Challenges, and Enabling Conditions of Collective Action to Promote Sustainable Production and Marketing of Products from Africa's Dry Forests

Collective action has been identified, by governments and nongovernmental organizations, as a mechanism to improve smallholder farmers' bargaining power and access to input and output markets. In many developing countries, supporting collective action has and continues to be an important policy instrument. However, in the collection and marketing of forest products, recognition of and support for producer organizations, is limited. Data, from focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and an analysis of formal producer organizations' functioning and organizational aspects, were used to examine the motives, benefits, challenges, and enabling conditions of collective action in promoting the sustainable production and marketing of shea, frankincense, and honey from dry forests in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Zambia, respectively. Lessons and key recommendations, including those related to policy, are presented on how collective action through formal producer organizations could be assisted to promote responsible forest products collection and marketing practices that benefit small‐scale producers in Africa's dry forests.