Announcement: ALPSA MOOT- Call for Entries

LEGAL PHILOSOPHY MOOT

TOPIC: The Fictional Case of the Speluncean Explorers, which raises the philosophical question of whether it is ever appropriate to kill another person in order to aid your own survival http://www.nullapoena.de/stud/explorers.html

The Legal Philosophy Moot involves:
• Brief written submissions appealing the case, and defending it

• A focus on legal reasoning, not reading cases

• Teams of three

§ QUESTIONS & ENTRIES: contact alpsa2008@gmail.com
§ More info: http://alpsa-alpsa.blogspot.com/
§ Location: The University of Queensland, St Lucia Campus

RELEVANT DATES
§ Registration opens: 31 JULY 2008 (alpsa2008@gmail.com)
§ Registration closes: 15 AUGUST 2008 (alpsa2008@gmail.com)
§ Written submissions: 20 SEPTEMBER 2008 (alpsa2008@gmail.com)
§ MOOT DATES: 27-28 SEPTEMBER 2008

More on the topic
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of Newgarth heard The Case of the Speluncean Explorers. The decision of the court to convict (and therefore execute, as mandated by Newgarth law) the surviving explorers has been the subject of considerable public debate. There are strong supporters of the decision, as well as those who think that the decision was an abomination of justice. Bowing to public pressure, the Chief Executive stayed the execution which was scheduled for Friday April 2 of this year, 4300. The Chief Executive has convened an Executive Clemency Board to hear a final appeal on the matter. The Executive Clemency Board will be prepared to listen to legal argument, jurisprudential reasoning, and general philosophical argument made persuasively. As Newgarth is a common law country, the Board will treat decisions from other common law counties as persuasive – if their reasoning is persuasive – but not binding. You must prepare written & oral submissions appealing & defending the decision.

ALPSA 2007 National Essay Competition Summary

Earlier this year we announced the results of the 2007 ALPSA National Essay Competition. Entries will be opening in the latter part of this year for the 2008 ALPSA National Essay Competition.

The standard of competition in the 2007 ALPSA National Essay Competition was very high, with entries up four-fold from 2006. In light of this, we released an extended results list, and we have awarded three Highly Commended certificates in addition to the three prize places.

The judges of the competition were: Justice Keane of the Queensland Court of Appeal; Professor Peter Cane of the Australian National University Law Faculty, and Dr Marguerite La Caze, a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Queensland .

It is my pleasure to announce the results:

1st Place: Graeme Karstaedt, University of Western Australia
2nd Place: Nora Gotzmann, University of Queensland
3rd Place: Ben Bertoldi, University of Queensland

Highly Commended:
Raphael de Vietri, University of Western Australia
Jessica Panegyres, University of Western Australia
Penelope Scott, University of New England

ALPSA Officers

All ALPSA Officers may be contacted at the alpsa email address. However, so you know who you're talking to, the ALPSA Board consists of

President- Caitlin Goss
Treasurer: Michael Wells
Secretary- Andy Gian
Public relations- Angus O'Brien & Anthony Bremner
Competitions convenors: Brett Le Plastrier & Matthew Doyle
Officer- Rob Mullins

Welcome to the Australian Legal Philosophy Students' Association!

The Australian Legal Philosophy Students' Association is dedicated to the promotion and discussion of legal philosophy, ethics, and related issues, amongst students, academics, and members of the legal profession. Basically, we host lectures, debates, and competitions: so if you couldn't get enough of Suri in Legal Theory, or you want to debate about the Spelunkean explorers or feminist jurisprudence, ALPSA is for you.

What ALPSA does

• We hold a range of lectures and seminars on topics relevant to legal philosophy: in 2008 our Annual Launch Event was held at the Banco Court, with Justice Keane of the Court of Appeal, Mr Peter Applegarth SC and Professor Suri Ratnapala debating issues related to privacy
• We hold an annual National Essay Competition in the second semester of every year
• In 2008 we are planning to hold the inaugural ALPSA moot

How to get involved

• Join our Facebook group: "Australian Legal Philosophy Students' Association" for news and updates
• Attend lectures and debates held at UQ or elsewhere in Brisbane
• Enter the National Essay Competition
• In semester 2 2008, ALPSA will be holding an AGM- anyone who wants to be involved in ALPSA is more than welcome, whether they want to stand for a position, or just help out
• Contact alpsa2008 -nospam- at gmail.com