
Selden Society lecture series Australia
Join a variety of judicial officers, legal professionals and academics for this informative and provocative series of legal history lectures. Each episode presents a single story uncovering a unique aspect of our common law past. This might be literature or language, a fascinating event or item, a significant person, or the development of a legal idea. These lectures are recorded in the Banco Court, Brisbane, and are now available to the world.
Podcasting since 2019 • 40 episodes
Selden Society lecture series Australia
Latest Episodes
50 years of the Family Law Act
This lecture explains broadly the fundamental changes to divorce and matrimonial causes law introduced by the Family Law Act in 1975. It also demonstrates how the many changes to the Act over the past 50 years have transformed family law as muc...
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Season 4
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Episode 39
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49:44

Recasting the law on a more merciful basis: juvenile justice then and now
The first Selden Society lecture for 2025, Recasting the law on a more merciful basis: juvenile justice then and now, will be presented by Dr Robyn Blewer from the Griffith Law School.In 1897, a Perth newspaper reported on the d...
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Season 4
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Episode 38
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47:56

Sir Gerard Brennan: constrained compassion
Sir Gerard Brennan has been one of Australia’s most important barristers and judges since World War II. As a judge, he made many significant contributions to Australian jurisprudence. The most consequential of these was the leading judgment in ...
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Season 4
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Episode 37
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54:08

Juries—their place in democracy: achievements and challenges
It is 100 years since women were allowed to serve on juries in Queensland, the first state in Australia to introduce what was then a radical reform. What are the challenges today for the composition of juries to reflect the judgment of a defend...
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Season 4
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Episode 36
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48:20

Sir Charles Lilley and the Grimley Affair
Sir Charles Lilley (1827–97) was a towering figure in politics and law in colonial Queensland, but his final years were dogged by controversy. In October 1892, Sir Charles announced his intention to resign as second Chief Justice o...
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Season 4
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Episode 35
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53:46
