The Military Law Committee monitors and considers matters of relevance to military law, military service, and veterans’ advocacy in the ACT. Members of the committee include Australian Defence Force legal officers, both regular and reserve, private practitioners, academics, and government lawyers. The committee is well placed to provide advice and comment to the President on military law issues. Such issues impact on Society members, the Defence community, and the wider public.
Recently the committee provided comment to the ACT Attorney-General and Justice and Community Safety Directorate in relation to legislative matters in the military law area, including requesting an amendment to the Legal Profession Regulation 2007 (ACT) to clarify the circumstances in which a person is permitted to engage in legal practice in the ACT where the person is a member of an organisation representing veterans in relation to claims and proceedings under prescribed Commonwealth veterans’ entitlements legislation. The amendment was made by the Statute Law Amendment Act 2019 (ACT) effective from 14 November 2019.
The potential implications of ACT law for both the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 and the Defence Act 1903 are topics of ongoing interest. The issue of the Commonwealth Criminal Code and combatant immunity is also a subject of ongoing consideration.
You can contact the committee directly through the Law Society's Committee Administrator on committee@actlawsociety.asn.au.
Membership
- James King (Chair)
- Genevieve Butler
- David Letts
- Jeremy Leyland
- Eva Logan
- Don Malcolmson
- Ben Mason
- Andrew Paterson
- David Swanson
- Peter Sutherland
- Christopher Ward
- Michael Webster
