Miscarriages of Justice : CriminalAppeals and the Rule of Law in Australia

This book identifies a fundamental flaw that lies at the heart of the Australian criminal justice system - an inconsistency between what constitutes a miscarriage of justice under substantive law as against what constitutes a miscarriage of justice under procedural law. Sangha and Moles argue that the existing system does not comply with the rule of law provisions or Australia’s international human rights obligations.

South Australia has introduced a new statutory right of appeal to address this issue and Tasmania is considering doing the same. This represents the first substantive change to the criminal appeal rights in Australia in 100 years.

Miscarriages of Justice: Criminal Appeals and the Rule of Law in Australia explains the operation of this legislation and advances a compelling argument for its nationwide adoption. This is achieved through an examination of a number of Australian (and international) wrongful conviction cases together with discussion of specific legal issues and the problematic area of compensation for wrongful convictions.