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Hybrid Justice (i): Indigenous Sentencing and Justice Planning

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Decolonising Criminology

Part of the book series: Critical Criminological Perspectives ((CCRP))

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Abstract

This chapter considers how the operation of the “third space” (Bhabha 1994) between the Global South and the Global North is enlivened to deepen Indigenous place-based and place-centred forms of political, social and legal organisation. It asks whether sentencing—as a site of punishment, rehabilitation and integration—can do more than further objectives of state law and order, and instead augment Indigenous social orders? Can Indigenous innovations in sentencing embody inter-cultural struggle and negotiation or are they at the mercy of state control? It suggests that Indigenous Law and Justice planning, rather than sentencing, exhibits indicia of inter-cultural struggle that countermands the dictates of the state and white laws. Whatever its form, inter-cultural spaces remain fragile to the colonial project and its persistent drive for hegemony.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Aboriginal Justice Agreements are formal agreements between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to work together to improve justice outcomes. They have been negotiated and implemented across Australia at various times since the late 1990s. Very few still remain current. In the state of Victoria, the Aboriginal Justice Agreement is in its fourth phase (see Victoria State Government and Aboriginal Justice Caucus 2019) and in the Australian Capital Territory it is in its second phase (see Australian Capital Territory Government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body 2019). See generally on Aboriginal Justice Agreements: Allison and Cunneen (2010).

  2. 2.

    R v Mamarika (1982) 5 A Crim R 354; Jadurin v R (1982) 7 Crim R 182; R v Minor (1992) 105 FLR 180; R v Miyatatawuy (1996) 87 A Crim R 574; R v Poulson (2001) 122 A Crim R 388.

  3. 3.

    Some Australian states and territories have introduced sentencing legislation to accommodate cultural background (see Crimes (Sentencing) Act 2005 (ACT) s 33(m)) or consideration of “cultural” submissions made by representatives of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community (Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) s 9(2)(p)).

  4. 4.

    A number of cases are frequently cited for this proposition, including Juli v R (1990) 50 A Crim R 31, Rogers & Murray v R (1989) 44 A Crim R 301, R v Yougie (1987) 33 A Crim R 301, R v Friday (1984) 14 A Crim R 471, and R v Bulmer (1986) 25 A Crim R 155.

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  1. Faculty of Law, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia

    Harry Blagg

  2. Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Thalia Anthony

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Blagg, H., Anthony, T. (2019). Hybrid Justice (i): Indigenous Sentencing and Justice Planning. In: Decolonising Criminology. Critical Criminological Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53247-3_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53247-3_10

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