The University of Queensland is set to be the leading provider of private law research and education in the Asia-Pacific region with the establishment of the Australian Centre for Private Law (ACPL) within the .
ACPL Director Professor Ross Grantham confirmed that 国产探花鈥檚 Law School is ideally positioned to become an internationally recognised centre of excellence in the field of private law.
鈥湽交� is already a leader in private law research in the Asia-Pacific region and the School is unique in the depth and breadth of staff expertise across a wide range of private law fields,鈥� Professor Grantham said.
鈥淭he establishment of the Centre will enable us to capitalise on these strengths to take our research to the next level,鈥� he said.
While ACPL鈥檚 research will primarily assist the legal profession, judiciary and government in exploring current and emerging issues, Professor Grantham said the Centre would also deliver widespread benefits to the community.
鈥淎lthough we tend to take it for granted, in fact the most common interaction that a person will have with the law is with the private law,鈥� Professor Grantham said.
鈥淚t is the private law that allows us to buy our daily newspaper, or enter into a mortgage contract, or keep trespassers out of our homes, or make a will to provide for our families. Almost every aspect of daily life is made possible, in legal terms, by the private law,鈥� he said.
鈥淥ur objective is to achieve a more coherent understanding of this body of law and to produce research that will inform government reform and facilitate a better quality of life for society as a whole.鈥�
In outlining the ACPL鈥檚 mission, Professor Grantham said that one of the Centre鈥檚 aims was to research areas where private law is currently out of sync with contemporary society.
鈥淟aws that were developed hundreds of years ago to suit the needs of society at that time are still applied today despite the obvious transformation in the way we live,鈥� he said.
鈥淔or instance, 500 years ago a person鈥檚 wealth may have consisted of a piece of land, a flock of sheep and a bag of gold coins, yet today we鈥檙e more likely to hold our wealth in intangible investments such as a superannuation fund, company shares, or even an iTunes collection.
"There is therefore a clear need to identify how the private law should be adapted to deal with these changes.鈥�
Professor Grantham stressed that an appropriate and effective legal framework is required if Australia is to prosper in a global environment, and that this means addressing issues such as the ownership of knowledge and know-how, the extent of an individual鈥檚 right to privacy, or how to provide consumers with effective redress for faulty goods and services, especially when bought online from overseas.
The Centre will be officially launched during the ACPL鈥檚 first Private Law Conference due to take place in Brisbane in April 2013.
Media: Professor Ross Grantham, TC Beirne School of Law, 07 3346 9776, r.grantham@law.uq.edu.au, Melissa Reynolds, TC Beirne School of Law, 07 3365 2523, m.reynolds@law.uq.edu.au
