Council of Australian Law Deans Meeting 2006#3 Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Law Brisbane 30 & 31 October 2006 MINUTES CALD Minutes, Meeting 2006#3 – QUT, Brisbane – 30 & 31 October 2006 Council of Australian Law Deans Meeting 2006#3 Faculty of Law, QUT, 30 & 31 October 2006 MINUTES Present Deans (16) Professor Michael Coper Australian National University Professor Duncan Bentley Bond University Professor Gary Davis Flinders University Professor Rob McQueen Griffith University Professor Paul Havemann James Cook University Professor Hon Michael Lavarch Queensland University of Technology Professor Bee Chen Goh Southern Cross University Professor Paul Fairall University of Adelaide Professor Murray Raff University of Canberra Professor Michael Crommelin University of Melbourne Professor Stephen Colbran University of New England Professor David Dixon University of New South Wales Professor Jill McKeough University of Technology Sydney Professor Bill Ford University of Western Australia Professor Carolyn Sappideen University of Western Sydney Professor Stuart Kaye University of Wollongong Deputising (5) Professor Rafiq Islam Macquarie University Professor HP Lee Monash University Dr Vernon Nase Murdoch University Professor Patrick Parkinson University of Sydney Professor Neil Andrews Victoria University In attendance (5) Ms Jennifer Braid CALD Secretary Ms Karen Heuer PA to Dean Coper Ms Allayne Webster PA to Dean Fairall Mr Christopher Lee ILSAC Secretariat Mr Christopher Roper Consultant (31 October) Apologies (13) Mr Dennis Clark Charles Darwin University Professor Sam Cusumano Deakin University A/Professor Mark Stoney Edith Cowan University Professor Gordon Walker La Trobe University Professor Rosalind Croucher* Macquarie University Professor Arie Freiberg* Monash University Professor Gabriel Moens* Murdoch University Professor Ted Wright University of Newcastle Professor Michael Gillooly University of Notre Dame, Australia Professor Charles Rickett University of Queensland Professor Ron McCallum* University of Sydney Professor Don Chalmers University of Tasmania Professor Chris Arup* Victoria University (Acting) *Represented by Deputy 2 CALD Minutes, Meeting 2006#3 – QUT, Brisbane – 30 & 31 October 2006 1. PRELIMINARY MATTERS 1.1. *Attendance and welcome The meeting began at 2.00 pm on Monday 30 October 2006. The Chair thanked Dean Lavarch (QUT) for hosting the CALD meeting in Brisbane and for providing such excellent support that allowed the smooth meeting and pre-meeting arrangements. The Chair welcomed everyone, particularly the new Deans, Dean Bee Chen Goh (Southern Cross University) and Dean David Dixon (UNSW), and the deputies appointed by their Deans to represent their respective law schools (see list above). Dean Lavarch responded to the Chair’s welcome and extended the welcome of QUT. All attendees at the meeting introduced themselves. Several Deans told the meeting of their imminent departures from their deanships and thus from CALD from the end of 2006: Deans Sappideen (UWS), Kaye (Wollongong), and McQueen (Griffith). Several other Deans indicated that their current terms would expire in 2007 (Deans Davis (Flinders) and Fairall (Adelaide)) and that their future as Deans was uncertain. Dean McCallum (Sydney) was retiring from his Deanship in mid-2007 and Dean Crommelin (Melbourne) at the end of 2007. Dean Raff (ex-VU) was attending his first meeting in his new capacity as Dean at the University of Canberra. The Chair had introduced a new dynamic to the meeting structure of CALD. To enable a thorough discussion of all matters on the CALD agenda, CALD extended its meeting time to a half-day (Monday 30 October), followed by the traditional CALD dinner in the evening, and a full-day (Tuesday 31 October). 1.2. Apologies The apologies were noted (see list above). 1.3. *Starring of items Items with one star were for discussion; items with two stars were priorities; unstarred items were taken as read and noted. The Chair explained the structure of the meeting, bringing ‘Item 7: Internationalisation’ forward to the half-day meeting on 30 October 2006, as Mr Christopher Lee, representing the International Legal Services Advisory Council (ILSAC), had kindly attended the CALD meeting to present the ILSAC report. The Chair noted that the priority items for meeting 2006#3 were the election of office bearers (item 2.2), the business plan (item 2.3), the Carrick project (item 4.4), the standards project (item 5.4), the academic misconduct paper (item 6.4), and the ILSAC report (item 7.1). 1.4. *Confirmation of minutes of meeting 2006#2 The draft minutes of meeting 2006#2 held on 4 July 2006 at Victoria University, Melbourne, had been circulated and were accepted as true and correct. Resolution 2006/34: That the Minutes of the previous meeting be approved. 3 CALD Minutes, Meeting 2006#3 – QUT, Brisbane – 30 & 31 October 2006 1.5. *Matters arising from the minutes The Chair provided an update on matters arising from the 2006#2 meeting Action Sheet Checklist. Members were invited to raise any matters not otherwise arising on the agenda. The Chair noted two such matters: the employment of a research assistant to examine and organise the CALD archives, particularly with a view to extracting relevant material for inclusion on the CALD website (item 2.3, meeting 2006#1, pending); and the drafting of a resolution relating to the prolonged detention of David Hicks at Guantanamo Bay (item 2.8, meeting 2006#2, pending). The Chair undertook to report progress on the first matter at meeting 2007#1; Dean Fairall indicated that he would raise the Hicks matter for discussion on day 2 of the present meeting. 2. COUNCIL MATTERS 2.1. Membership/Constitution No business under this item. 2.2. **Election of office bearers The current terms of office of the CALD Executive, comprising Deans Coper (ANU, Chair), Ford (UWA, Deputy Chair), Raff (UC, Treasurer), Colbran (UNE), Croucher (Macquarie), and Lavarch (QUT), were all due to expire at the end of 2006. The Chair called for nominations, but foreshadowed that his ideas for the development of a business plan for 2007-2008 (see below) would, if accepted, have some implications for the structure of the Executive (the potential size of which is unlimited under the current CALD Constitution). The Chair also noted that he was not averse to continuing as Chair for one more year (that is, to the end of 2007), and indeed was keen to bring to fruition or at least make significant progress on many of the major projects that were just getting underway. Resolution 2006/35: That Dean Coper be re-elected as Chair for a further 12 months, that the current Executive remain in place for the time being, and that the structure and membership of the Executive be further considered at meeting 2007#1 in the light of progress made in relation to the Chair’s proposals for better succession planning, and for the establishment of CALD Standing Committees, as foreshadowed in the Chair’s paper ‘Notes for the Development of a Business Plan for 2007-2008’. 2.3. **Treasurer’s report The Treasurer’s report and attachments were circulated for discussion. The report provided graphs to explain the budgetary outlays and to give a clear picture of CALD’s current financial position, both as an end in itself and in order to assist discussion of the proposed Business Plan. The Treasurer explained that the bottom line of CALD’s profit and loss statement looked healthy, mainly because of the injection of funds from the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), a one-off grant of $22,000 to support the redesign of a major CALD initiative, the publication of ‘Studying Law in Australia’ (discussion under Item 7.1.4). However, the statement was but a ‘snapshot’ of the current situation, and the DEST grant was expected to be fully spent on the SLIA project. CALD’s primary source of 4 CALD Minutes, Meeting 2006#3 – QUT, Brisbane – 30 & 31 October 2006 income is the membership of the 29 law schools (currently $1,600 per school). All subscriptions for 2006 have been paid. The Treasurer thanked Deans for their commitment and diligence in this respect, which had not always been the case in the past. Business Plan 2007-2008: The Chair had circulated just prior to the meeting and now tabled his paper entitled ‘Notes for the Development of a Business Plan for 2007- 2008’. The Chair spoke to the paper, which is attached to these minutes. The paper dealt with (1) CALD’s goals and objectives (in need of some refining and restatement); (2) CALD’s projects (in need of being crystallised, prioritised, and supported by substantial resources); (3) Enhancing CALD resources (two different approaches to membership fees were set out); and (4) CALD executive structures (six standing committees were proposed, as well as better succession planning, possibly on the basis of a rolling arrangement of Chair, Chair Elect, and Immediate Past Chair). The Chair was thanked for his paper, which was seen as important in improving the future operation of CALD as the peak body of Australian law schools, especially between plenary meetings. The proposal as to standing committees was adopted, with the current interim Executive to pursue the further issues of succession planning and the optimal structure of the CALD Executive in the light of the new committee system. The six standing committees are on Legal Research, Legal Education, Standards and Accreditation, Legal Practice, International Matters, and Development of the CALD Website. The only contentious matter was how to approach CALD membership fees for 2007 (bearing in mind that this was a major, but not the only, way to enhance CALD’s resources, with attention being necessary also to grant possibilities, such as the recent DEST grant to develop an electronic version of Studying Law in Australia and the pending Carrick Institute grant to enhance teaching and learning). The meeting considered two alternative approaches to membership fees for 2007, the common ground being that a substantial increase was justified to allow for an enhanced secretariat and more ambitious and effective project development.