Editorial

• Virtual Justice in the Bush’: The Use of Court Technology in Remote and Regional Australia
• The University Academic as a Fiduciary - Where to Following University of Western Australia v Gray?
• The Contractual Legalities of Buying and Selling on eBay: Online Auctions and the Protection of Consumers
• The Laws of Man Over Vehicles Unmanned: The Legal Response to Robotic Revolution on Sea, Land and Air

This issue contains four articles on very different topics.

The first, "Virtual Justice in the Bush", by Anne Wallace, deals with the use of information technology, such as ideoconferencing and broadband, to assist courts delier justice to remote regions. After considering the technology, especially remote witness technology, and the legal framework within which the technology operates, Wallace presents a case study of its use in three small towns in remote parts of Western Australia, Laverton, Warburton and Warakurna. She examines the rationales for using the technology and considers some of the issues involved in its use, especially in cases involving indigenous Australians who already feel alienated from the white justice system, and considers some of the issues arising from the use of the technology in this context. Her conclusion is that it is important to ensure that the technology is used in ways which do not make indigenous Australians feel more cut off from the Australian legal system.

In the second article, "The University Academic as a Fiduciary", Lynden Griggs and Rohan Price consider the implications of the recent Federal Court of Australia case, University of Western Australia v Gray, a case about the ownership of an invention made by an academic staff member in the employ of an academic institution. The article focuses on the extent of an employee’s fiduciary obligations to the employer. The authors are of the opinion that the case has the potential to lead to a reconsideration of the employment relationship in Australia, not only in relation to intellectual property rights, but in relation to other matters as well. They conclude that with universities no longer privileged employers and staff no longer completely free to choose what they research and where they publish, and with terms and conditions largely indistinguishable from other public sector employers, and a more directed workplace, employers have gained greater capacity to direct, but only in the context of specific hours and tasks as outlined in the contract of employment. Although employees may not owe their employers broad fiduciary obligations, an employer can incorporate rights of a fiduciary nature into a comprehensive contract of service by using clear words.

In the third article, "The Contractual Legalities of Buying and Selling on EBay", Drs Kariyawasam and Guy consider the scope and content of a contract and consumer protection law governing the buying and selling of goods on eBay. They argue that there is a mismatch between the operation of online auction sites such as eBay and the law of contracts, sale of goods and consumer protection, as embodied in the common law, the Sale of Goods Act and the Trade Practices Act, creating problems for the protection of consumers. This paper discusses the legal difficulties, for both vendors and purchasers, associated with transactions for the sale of goods on eBay. In doing this, it considers alternative strategies and methods that online vendors and purchasers can use to protect their interests and avoid some of the common traps into which users of electronic media may fall. The paper also examines whether current law sufficiently protects Australian consumers who utilise online auctions and whether additional regulation is desirable. It considers some judicial decisions made in Australia and overseas which have addressed the precise legal responsibility of eBay to online consumers. The paper concludes that there is a need for the better enforcement of the rights of online consumers.

The final article, "The Laws of Man Over Vehicles Unmanned", by Brendan Gogarty and Meredith Hagger, examines the myriad of legal, social and ethical issues raised by the increasing use of autonomous and semi-autonomous 'drones' in a variety of milieus. The authors trace the historical impetus towards the development of this technology and examine in detail its current use in both military and civilian contexts. While the authors note many of the concerns and difficulties involved in the regulation of this technology, they do not come to any definite conclusions regarding appropriate legal responses to these issues. Rather, the authors invite further debate and discussion on the questions raised by this technology in the up-coming special edition of this journal on the topic of unmanned vehicles.

Abstracts

‘Virtual Justice in the Bush’: The Use of Court Technology in Remote and Regional Australia

Anne Wallace

Courts and tribunals in Australia are making substantial investments in court technology, in particular, videoconferencing and broadband technology, as a way of delivering justice to remote and regional Australia. While the deployment of technology in this way is most often justified on the grounds of cost-savings and convenience, there has been little in the way of research on the effects of its use. This paper discusses issues relating to the use of videoconferencing technology in remote and regional courts in Western Australia focussing particularly on a case study of three remote courts in the Goldfields region. In this region, a high percentage of those to be served by the new technology are Aboriginal people who already experience considerable disadvantage in their dealings with the justice system. It identifies some of those factors that may take on particular significance in the context of the use of videoconferencing technology to take evidence from Aboriginal witnesses. I argue that there is a need to ensure that the use of this technology does not add to the level of ‘remoteness’ experienced by Aboriginal people in their dealings with the non-indigenous justice system, and that definitions of remoteness that concentrate on physical and economic factors may overlook this need.

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The University Academic as a Fiduciary - Where to Following University of Western Australia v Gray?

Lynden Griggs, Rohan Price

The recent Full Federal Court decision in University of Western Australia v Gray (2009) [2009] FCAFC 116; 179 FCR 346) is the most recent episode in an emerging saga concerning the ownership of an invention made by an academic member of staff whilst in the employment of a higher education institution. With only two Australian decisions exploring this topic (the other being Victoria University of Technology v Wilson [2004] VSC 33; (2004) 60 IPR 392) having divergent results, the purpose of this article is to examine these two cases in the historical context of an employee’s fiduciary obligations. The answer as to when an employee owes fiduciary duties sends a very clear message about the nature of the employer/employee relationship, and fundamentally, the resolution of the cases sends a message to both career academics and university administrators as to how their affairs need to be structured so as to maximise the personal interests of each. Moreover, the authors consider that the decision in University of Western Australia v Gray has the potential to reconfigure the employment relationship in Australia, most particularly in relation to intellectual property ownership, but more generally too.

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The Contractual Legalities of Buying and Selling on eBay: Online Auctions and the Protection of Consumers

Kanchana Kariyawasam, Scott Guy

he precise content and scope of contract law governing the buying and the selling of goods on eBay have long been a cause for considerable concern — particularly for online users of eBay. The rise in the use of online auctions has presented the law with a number of interesting challenges in consumer protection. Clearly, there is a mismatch and fundamental discrepancy between the operation of online ‘auction’ sites, such as eBay, and conventional law as articulated in common law contract casebooks. This article examines the legal position of individual online auction users in Australia (buyers and sellers) and focuses on the potential risks, liabilities and obligations users may face. Very little academic attention has, so far, been paid in Australia to the legal processes and issues relating to the use of online auction sites such as eBay. It is, therefore, timely and appropriate that the issue be examined in detail and the law relating to online auction processes be clarified. This article examines whether current law sufficiently protects Australian consumers who utilise online auctions and whether additional legislative regulatory intervention is required. The paper then looks at some judicial decisions made in Australia and overseas which have addressed the precise legal construction of eBay and its attendant responsibility to online consumers. Finally, the paper concludes that better enforcement of consumer rights is vital for online auctions.

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The Laws of Man Over Vehicles Unmanned: The Legal Response to Robotic Revolution on Sea, Land and Air

Brendan Gogarty & Meredith Hagger

Unmanned vehicles (UVs) have rapidly gained prominence in both military and civilian spheres over the last decade. This paper argues that the use of such technology challenges the boundaries and efficacy of existing legal frameworks and raises a range of social and ethical concerns. Despite this, there has been relatively little legal debate on the consequences of removing human operators from vehicles. This is a growing concern, given that unmanned vehicles are now a practical reality in many diverse environments across the globe. This article therefore provides an overview of some of the legal, social and ethical issues presented by unmanned vehicles as a précis to further discussion in a special edition of this journal.

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