Reform call on custody bungle

THE locking up of an Australian resident for more than three years in the nation's "worst" case of wrongful detention has prompted demands by the Commonwealth Ombudsman for an overhaul of federal laws.

Bungle led to three years behind bars

THE locking up of an Australian resident for more than three years in what is said to be the nation's longest and worst case of wrongful detention has prompted demands for an overhaul of federal laws by the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

Biometric data to be shared

FINGERPRINTS of Australia's immigration detainees will be shared with Britain and Canada as part of a global push to toughen border security and eliminate identity fraud.

Proposed Change to Australian Immigration Law

There has been a proposal to allow immigration detainees to work while visas are processed, to mixed responses.

Together Again, A War-torn Family Beats The Odds

THERE are everyday happy families and there are happy families who have done it hard. When you have survived a civil war, seven years of separation where you believed your husband and children were dead, refugee camps and Australian immigration obduracy, the happiness is that much sweeter.

Lawyers Allege Conspiracy Against Haneef

LAWYERS representing Mohamed Haneef say they are convinced that senior members of the Howard government devised a plan to cancel the Indian doctor's visa if he was not convicted of terrorism.

Lawyers Seeing Parallels With Hicks Case, But More Quickly

TIM BUGG, president of the Law Council of Australia, believes he speaks for 50,000 practising lawyers in this country as he continues to attack the Howard Government for its treatment of Mohamed Haneef.

So Many Lawyers, So Little Responsibility

YOU would expect lawyers, of all people, to be outraged at the treatment of David Hicks and the prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. And in general, they are. But not the lawyers in John Howard's cabinet. Of the 17 cabinet ministers, 11 are lawyers, including the Prime Minister. And if you include the outer ministry, then 14 of the 30 most senior people in government are lawyers.

Immigration Spent $1.5m Fighting Boy's Stress Suit

THE Immigration Department spent more than $1.5 million fighting claims that a young Iranian refugee was traumatised while held in detention centres.

Immigration Hit By Day Of Backdowns

A DAY of turmoil in the nation's immigration system ended with the Federal Government backing down on several fronts yesterday. In Sydney, an 11-year-old Iranian, Shayan Badraie, was offered damages for trauma he suffered in Woomera and Villawood detention centres after a 63-day NSW Supreme Court hearing. Also yesterday, the Immigration Minister, Amanda Vanstone, granted Robert Jovicic leave to return to Australia on compassionate grounds. Mr Jovicic, a petty criminal, was deported to Serbia in ...

It Is A 'shameful Episode' In The History Of Immigration In Australia. The Management Of Solon Was 'catastrophic'. The Unlawful Removal Of One Of Our Citizens Is 'almost Unthinkable'

A DEFIANT Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone has absolved herself of responsibility after her department's handling of the Vivian Alvarez Solon case was branded "catastrophic" in a damning independent report.

Doubts On Legality Of Chen Treatment

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, will face pressure in Parliament next week over possible breaches of immigration regulations in dealing with the Chinese diplomat Chen Yonglin's defection attempt.

Lawyer Group's Concern For Torture Advocate's Case Bias

A NATIONAL lawyers' association has called for an investigation of refugee cases decided by the head of Deakin University's law school, who sparked uproar by advocating the use of torture.

Lawyers Could Face Costs

PROPOSED laws before Parliament that limit immigration court appeals and expose lawyers to financial penalties for pursuing cases that cannot be won have been denounced as dangerous by a refugee lawyer.

Ruddock Flags Stiffer Tests In Migration Cases

Immigration lawyers would have to prove the merits of their cases before they took them to court and if they lost would be personally liable for legal costs, under laws being considered by Federal Parliament.

Ruling Makes Law Work More Smoothly - For Lawyers

Society should be ashamed at how out of step High Court judges have become ("Court makes lawyers safe from lawsuits", Herald, March 11). The fact that negligence cases, such an important aspect of the law, can be flattened by out-of-date judges with out-of-date views should be frowned upon by all members of society, including the legal profession.

Lawyers Hit The Streets For Homeless

The main rule for the 80-odd lawyers who have signed up for the Homeless Persons Legal Service is: be honest.

Lawyers May Bear Costs Of Fighting Immigration Bat Tles

Judges will be given stronger powers to punish lawyers who launch vexatious immigration cases under a crackdown on asylum-seeker legislation that will make it easier for courts to impose personal costs orders against them.

Nauru Bars Asylum Seekers' Lawyers

Melbourne lawyers prevented from going to Nauru to represent detained asylum seekers said three other Australian lawyers, acting for Nauru, had been allowed in.

Immigration And Humanity

The unrelenting position of the Federal Government against asylum seekers who, it says, claim to be Afghans but are not, is well understood. The insistence on knowing the true identity and background of asylum seekers is reasonable, since the immigration system cannot work fairly any other way. Yet, as the case of the Bakhtiari family shows, applying theory to practice is not always easy. The public is utterly confused over the identity and background of Ali Bakhtiari, his wife Roqiah and their five childre