RIS ID
83378
Link to publisher version (URL)
Additional Publication Information
Australian Institute of Criminology and State of New South Wales through the Attorney General's Department of NSW)
Abstract
This brief focuses on Indigenous sentencing courts, which operate in all Australian states and territories except Tasmania. These courts have been established according to protocols and practices, and can be distinguished from more informal practices that occur in remote areas where judicial officers travel on circuit. The first court was established in Port Adelaide on 1 June 1999. Indigenous sentencing courts do not practise or adopt Indigenous customary laws. Rather, they use Australian criminal laws and procedures to sentence Indigenous offenders who have either pleaded guilty or been found guilty, but they allow Indigenous Elders and Respected Persons to participate in the process, thereby creating a more culturally appropriate forum for sentencing Indigenous offenders (Auty 2004).
Publication Details
E. Marchetti, 'Indigenous Sentencing Courts (Brief 5, December)' (2009) Brief no.5 (December) Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse 1-8.