The Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) is an institution operated jointly by the Faculties of Law of the
University of Technology Sydney
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...
and the
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
. Its
public policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
purpose is to improve access to justice through access to legal information.
Inception and aims
AustLII was established in 1995.
Founded as joint program of the University of Technology Sydney and the University of New South Wales
law school
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
s, its initial funding was provided by the
Australian Research Council
The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...
.
Its
public policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
purpose is to improve access to justice through access to legal information.
Content
AustLII content is publicly available legal information. Its
primary source
In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...
information includes
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...
,
treaties
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...
and decisions of
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
s and
tribunal
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title.
For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...
s. It also hosts secondary legal materials, including
law reform
Law reform or legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing change in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency.
Intimately related are law reform bodies or law commissions, w ...
and
royal commission reports, as well as
legal journals.
The AustLII databases include the complete text of all of the decisions of the
High Court,
decisions of the
Federal Court from 1977 onwards (the decisions between 1977 and 1996 were selected by the Federal Court),
and decisions of the
Family Court
Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...
from 1988 onwards (as selected by the Family Court),
as well as a number of other federal and state courts and tribunals.
See also
*
ComLaw
The Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) is an Australian Commonwealth government agency established under the ''Parliamentary Counsel Act 1970'' (Cth) within the Commonwealth Attorney-General's portfolio. OPC drafts all government Bills that ...
*
Free Access to Law Movement
The Free Access to Law Movement (FALM) is the international movement and organization devoted to providing free online access to legal information such as case law, legislation, treaties, law reform proposals and legal scholarship. The movement b ...
*
Legal Information Institute
The Legal Information Institute (LII) is a non-profit, public service of Cornell Law School that provides no-cost access to current American and international legal research sources online alaw.cornell.edu The organization is a pioneer in the del ...
References
External links
Australasian Legal Information Institute
Free Access to Law Movement
Law of Australia
Universities in Australia
1995 establishments in Australia
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