ATS2553 Indigenous justice in Australia

The unit introduces you to issues of Indigenous justice and injustice in Australia. This unit focuses on critically understanding the relationship between colonialism in Australia, Indigenous Law and systems of justice and contemporary concerns of injustice. By understanding the role of the criminal justice system in histories of Australian colonialism, you will learn how the criminal justice system has attempted to manage Aboriginal people from the European settlement into the present. Considering crime and criminal justice through a settler-colonial lens, you will learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices about experiences of crime and criminal justice, emerging trends in Indigenous justice and consider ways to improve and 'decolonise' current forms of criminal justice. Drawing upon Indigenous perspectives and critical inter-disciplinary work, you will examine topics such as: Indigenous customary law, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, mandatory sentencing practices, and the policing of public space, language in court systems and Koori courts.