Arie Freiberg (born 22 August 1949) is an Israeli-born Australian legal academic. He was formerly Dean of Monash Law School from 2004 and retired at the end of 2012. His expertise is in criminal law and criminology and he was the Chair of the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council from 2004 to 2022. His research has focussed on sentencing and the administration of criminal justice, but he has over one hundred publications in many areas of law.

Early life

Freiberg was born in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, and settled in Australia in 1955.''Who's Who in Australia'', ConnectWeb, 2016. He spent his undergraduate years at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, where he studied law and criminology. He graduated in 1972 with an honours degree in Law and a diploma in Criminology. He held a number of professional and academic positions, including editor of the

Monash University Law Review The ''Monash University Law Review'' is a scholarly refereed law journal based at the Monash University Faculty of Law. The journal is managed by an editorial committee of Monash University students who are assisted by two faculty advisors. The e ...

, before obtaining a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from Monash in 1984.

Professional career

Before being appointed Foundation Chair of

Criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

at Melbourne University in 1991, Freiberg held a number of professional and academic positions. He was Reader in Law at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

, and worked for the

Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the Attorney-General of A ...

, as well as the

Australian Institute of Criminology The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) is Australia's national research and knowledge centre on crime and criminal justice. The Institute seeks to promote justice and reduce crime by undertaking and communicating evidence-based research ...

. Within a year of his appointment as Professor at Melbourne University, he was made Head of Criminology, and the Dean of the Arts Faculty. In 2004, Freiberg was appointed Dean of Law at

. In addition to his involvement in the Sentencing Advisory Council, Freiberg has held positions with the Australian Institute of Criminology and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. He has served as President of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Criminology and is currently a member of the Council of the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration. He is also a fellow of the

Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...

. He has worked as a consultant to governments in Australia and around the world. In 2009, Freiberg was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for his contributions to criminology, sentencing law, legal education and academic leadership.

Sentencing Advisory Council

After leading a major review of sentencing laws during 2001–2002, ''Pathways to Justice'', Freiberg was appointed by the Victorian Government as foundation chair of the newly established the Sentencing Advisory Council in 2004. The council is an independent statutory body which advises the Victorian Government on sentencing laws, and liaises with and educates the broader community on sentencing. As chairman of the council, Freiberg has made a number of major recommendations on sentencing law reform. The most publicised and controversial of these was the abolition of

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

s, which Freiberg labelled "inherently flawed". He has also urged for the removal of

provocation Provocation, provoke or provoked may refer to: * Provocation (legal), a type of legal defense in court which claims the "victim" provoked the accused's actions * Agent provocateur, a (generally political) group that tries to goad a desired res ...

as a relevant consideration in sentencing for homicides, increased use of

home detention In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, Electronic monitoring in the United States, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their Hous ...

, and has advocated increased use of specialised courts such as

drug court Drug courts are judicially supervised court dockets that provide a sentencing alternative of treatment combined with supervision for people living with serious substance use. Drug courts are problem-solving courts that take a public health appro ...

s. Freiberg has also recommended that judges be allowed to indicate to defendants what their penalty may be if they plead guilty, as a means of encouraging early guilty pleas, reducing court backlogs and preventing victims from experiencing the trauma of a trial.Govt support for sentencing reforms - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
/ref> More broadly, Freiberg's recent work has focussed on the developing area of non-adversarial justice.

Publications

Freiberg has over 100 publications on a wide range of issues surrounding law and criminology. Some of his most prominent works include: * ''Non-Adversarial Justice'' (Melbourne, The Federation Press) * ''Pathways to Justice'' (Melbourne, Department of Justice) * ''Penal Populism, Sentencing Councils and Sentencing Policy'' (Hawkins Press) * ''Sentencing Review: Pathways to Justice'' (Melbourne, Department of Justice) * ''Sentencing: State and Federal Law in Victoria'' (Melbourne, Oxford University Press) * ''Sentencing Reform and Penal Change: The Victorian Experience (Sydney, The Federation Press) * ''Sentencing Review: Drug Courts and Related Options'' (Melbourne, Department of Justice)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freiberg, Arie 1949 births Living people Australian legal scholars Australian criminologists Australian Jews Academics from Melbourne Israeli emigrants to Australia Academic staff of Monash University Monash Law School alumni Melbourne Law School alumni Members of the Order of Australia