MIKA TSOI
Volume 4, Issue 10, (Originally Published on 7 October 2013)
 
Judgment at Nuremberg is the rare combination of important and good.
The importance comes from the subject matter: the Justice Case at the Nuremberg Trials. Two questions are put forth to be answered: are the law¬yers and judges legally culpable for their conduct in the Third Reich, and how could this have happened? It should not be a spoiler to reply yes to the first. The second question requires more space and soul searching than available here.
 
The quality of the film is evident in all aspects. The spotlight is on Spencer Tracy, who is terrific as the small-time judge from Maine, arriving after all the big fish have been gutted. His point of view allows us to see many aspects of German society to attempt to give con-tent to the second question. The servants at his house are the common people; Marlene Dietrich, the upper crust, shows Tracy around to show not all Germans are monsters. The non-procedural nature means examination-in-chief is shown, the rarest of depictions, and it’s even useful for the drama because the viewer knows as much as Tracy.
 
For the law nerd, there is also material for questions addressed by Advocacy, Evidence, Legal Theory and Legal Eth¬ics. International Criminal Law rarely. International Criminal Law rarely gets depicted on screen, so its lovely to have an Oscar- winning film to do so.
 
Watch it. Its compelling viewing.
 
 
Mika Tsoi

EQUITY UNCLE
Volume 4, Issue 10, (Originally Published on 7 October 2013)
 
Dear Equity Uncle,
How do you deal with unreasonable people? A syndicate member is de¬manding that we do things her way or no way at all. The lecturer said we have to sort it out ourselves. Her interpreta¬tion of the law is so utterly completely wrong that if we take it we will fail, but we also need her to sign off on our as¬signment so we can submit it. I want to take the moral high ground, but I also want to call fire down from heaven. Help me Equity Uncle, you’re my only hope.
Aspiring Senator
 
Dear Mr Senator,
Are you that new Senator from the Motoring Enthusiast Party? Congratu¬lations! Equity thought about running for a Senate seat too, but Equity doesn’t trust the AEC. Equity is chuffed that you’re in, though. Couldn’t pick a better representative.
So you see, compromise isn’t all bad. Some people have been praising Ms Gillard just recently for compromising her way to legislative success. Which is great, because Equity loves reading legislation.
 
But the spirit of compromise isn’t always appropriate, and you do have to be careful. Otherwise you’ll find yourself agreeing to a pay cut or losing half your spicy lamb borek or working Sundays while the Republicans have shut down your government. Seriously, who shuts down a government? Equity frowns on Congress.
That said, if the Tea Party could shut down Scott Morrison for a bit, Equity would be most pleasèd.
 
Equity doesn’t know what to sug¬gest. Sure, you could give up the high ground and run with bad law. That what Equity usually does. But you could also hold firm on principle and wait for her to blink. She wouldn’t tank the global economy, right? I mean, she won’t, right?
 
Sincerely,
Equity Uncle
 
Equity Uncle

THOMAS RICHARDSON
Volume 4, Issue 10, (Originally Published on 7 October 2013)
 
Melbourne Law School witnessed a turning point in the history of the Mel¬bourne University Greek Association (MUnGA) on Wednesday, 18 September 2013, with a special presentation from Justice Emilios Kyrou of the Supreme Court of Victoria, entitled ‘Personal and Career Reflections of a Hellenic Austral¬ian Judge’.
 
The event got under way with a speech from MUnGA’s president, Yiannis Kallianis, who briefed the audience numbering more than 120 of the proud history of the Association and its aims, which include uniting students at the University of Melbourne philhellenic affiliations and Hellenic descent, as well as fostering pride amongst students of a Hellenic background. MLS Associate Dean Alison Duxbury formally introduced Justice Kyrou and congratulated MUnGA on its initiative.
 
Justice Kyrou took centre stage and began his talk by acknowledging the humble and difficult lifestyle his family endured in their ancestral village of Sfikia, when poverty was rife.
He attributed his hard-working at¬titude and dedication as beginning from a very young age, inspired by the work ethic of his parents.
 
Justice Kyrou was also keen to point out that his experience as a migrant and Hellenic ancestry built up a determina¬tion to succeed, not only personally but professionally.
Being the eldest of his siblings meant that the young Kyrou shouldered an unusually high level of responsibility. For instance, he had to act as an Eng¬lish language interpreter for his parents and inform them of their rights.
 
Justice Kyrou also attributes his early interest in the law to his challenging childhood, growing up underprivileged in the northern Melbourne suburb of Broadmeadows in an age where racism was rife.
After overcoming difficulties, Justice Kyrou appealed directly to the mostly student audience, as he gave advice on how to achieve success. He empha¬sised that whilst attaining good marks throughout university is important, it is not an absolute guarantee.
 
Among the factors leading to a suc¬cessful career in the law, Justice Kyrou pointed to interpersonal and communi¬cation skills, a respectful attitude to sen¬iors in the workplace and a true passion for the job.
Justice Kyrou then spoke about his career as a lawyer, a period of time not addressed in his autobiography, Call Me Emilios.
 
After much toil and dedication, he rose to become partner at the pres¬tigious law firm Mallesons Stephens Jacques, as it was known then.
He also faced career barriers on occa¬sion, both overt and systemic. Discrimi¬nation, Justice Kyrou noted, still heavily existed in the law field then, and would only improve in the 1980s.
He said this era witnessed a substan¬tial rise in the number of firms and lawyers, which contributed to the posi¬tive development, he commented, of a meritocratic system.
 
A life-changing opportunity arose in 2008, when then-solicitor Kyrou was offered an appointment to the Supreme Court bench – only the second such ap¬pointment in Victoria’s history.
Justice Kyrou emphasised his in¬creased responsibilities since becoming a judge, and spoke at length about the importance of the judiciary’s independ¬ence and impartiality.
The Justice emphasised his increased responsibilities in being a member of the third arm of government, the judici¬ary; speaking at length on the impor¬tance of the Judiciary’s independence and impartiality.
 
The presentation was a great success for MUnGA and its partners in arrang¬ing the event: MLS; the Law Students’ Society and its newly elected president, Nick Jane; the National Union of Greek Australian Students and its president, Tass Sgardelis; and the event’s sponsor, the Bank of Melbourne.
 
THE MUNGA LECTURE WAS WELL ATTENDED BY MLS STUDENTS AND OTHERS AND MUNGA PRESIDENT YIANNI KALLIANIS, RIGHT, SHAKES HANDS WITH JUSTICE KYROU
 
Thomas Richardson

RAOUL RENARD
Volume 4, Issue 10, (Originally Published on 7 October 2013)
 
Two MLS teams competed at the La Trobe University National Environmen¬tal Law Moot in late last month to re¬sounding success, with both teams mak¬ing it to the semi finals, and culminating in Nick Kotzman, Dale Straughan and Matt Psycharis winning the Grand Final by a comfortable margin. Psycharis also took best oralist.
 
Twenty-four teams competed overall, comprising universities from all over Australia. The MLS semi-finalists were Matt Pierri, Holly Watson-Reeves and Louis Andrews.
Of particular note is that all MLS entrants this year were first years, not having studied administrative or environmental law. Their successful performances demonstrated both teams’ hard work over the preceding weeks.
 
The moot took the style of a single-problem competition, relating to ministerial approval (at federal and Queensland state level) of a proposed Coal Seam Gas mining operation.
The claimants were an organisation of locals, and the respondents were the two ministers and the CSG mining company.
 
Accordingly, the moot was based around the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (Cth) and Environmental Protection Act (Qld). Throughout the competition, teams would represent both sides.
 
 MLS winning team advocated for the claimants in the final round, and best oralist Matt Psycharis had this to say: “It was nice to end the competition rep¬resenting the good guys, and in the end the injunction was granted”. Another memorable quip came from semi-finalist Andrews: “Ultimately, the real winner is the Kroombit tinkerfrog”.
 
Most rounds were judged by barris¬ters, judges’ associates or academics. The Grand Final was held in the Federal Court in Melbourne and was judged by Chief Justice Preston of the Land and Environment Court of NSW, Justice Marshall of the Federal Court and Environment Defenders Office principal solicitor Felicity Milner.
 
The judges were not without humour, with Justice Marshall quipping:
“So are we just to believe the politician? No less, a politician from Queensland?”
 
Photo saved under *MLS WINNERS DALE STRAUGHEN, NICHOLAS KOTZMAN AND MATTHEW PSYCHARIS
 
Raoul Renard