Honeysett v The Queen [2018] VSCA 214The Victorian Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against sentence of 5 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 3 years for armed robbery. This case provides useful guidance on the weight to be afforded to an Aboriginal offender's participation in the Koori Court process.

Sir Cliff Richard OBE V The British Broadcasting Corporation; The Chief Constable Of South Yorkshire Police [2018] EWHC 1837 (Ch)The UK High Court has found that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) infringed the privacy of renowned musician Sir Cliff Richard (Sir Cliff) by broadcasting a raid by the South Yorkshire Police (the SYP) following an allegation of historical sexual offences.

Case of Mariya Alekhina and Others v Russia (ECHR, Third Section, Application no. 38004/12, 17 July 2018) The European Court of Human Rights has found that Russia breached human rights conventions in the prosecution and imprisonment of feminist protest band Pussy Riot.

The Queen v Chaarani (Ruling 1) [2018] VSC 387 (16 July 2018)Justice Beale of the Victorian Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to an earlier order prohibiting the wearing of a nikab by a spectator during the trial of three men accused of plotting a Christmas bombing of Federation Square in Melbourne's CBD. Ms Aisha Al Qattan, the wife of one of the accused, submitted that a prohibition against wearing the nikab while in the public gallery of the court breached Ms Al Qattan's right of religious freedom and right to participate in public life. Both rights are enshrined in the Victorian Charter of Human Rights (Charter).

QT v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCFA 28 (4 July 2018)A landmark decision of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal has found that the Director of Immigration acted unlawfully by administering an immigration policy in a manner that discriminated against same-sex couples. The policy had prevented dependant visas from being granted to the same-sex spouse of a person resident in Hong Kong on an employment visa.

In a recent interlocutory ruling, Justice Bell of the Supreme Court of Victoria excluded from evidence admissions obtained from an elderly Italian man who spoke limited English during a police interview conducted without an interpreter.

Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. ___ (2018) (26 June 2018)In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has upheld the third iteration of President Trump’s ‘Travel Ban’.

Carpenter v United States, S. Ct.  (22 June 2018) The US Supreme Court held that a warrant is required for police to access cell site location information (CSLI) from a cell phone company under the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution. Chief Justice Roberts for the majority stated that the Court would "decline to grant the state unrestricted access to a wireless carrier's database of physical location information".

Owners Corporation OC1-POS539033E v Black [2018] VSC 337 (21 June 2018)The Supreme Court of Victoria has handed down a decision that owners corporations must undertake modification works to apartment buildings for owners and occupiers with a disability. The decision has been hailed as a significant win for people with a disability.

Minogue v Victoria [2018] HCA 27 (20 June 2018)In a unanimous decision, the High Court has held that section 74AAA of the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic) did not prevent the plaintiff from seeking parole after a 28 year sentence.

Centrum för Rättvisa v Sweden (Application no 35252/08) (19 June 2018) In June this year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that a scheme providing for the bulk interception of electronic signals in Sweden for foreign surveillance purposes, was consistent with the rights set out in the European Convention of Human Rights (Convention). The decision cements the high threshold required for the protection of the right to respect for private and family life, the home and correspondence under article 8 of the Convention.

Law Society of British Columbia v Trinity Western University 2018 SCC 32 (15 June 2018); and Trinity Western University v Law Society of Upper Canada 2018 SCC 33 (15 June 2018)In two recent decisions, the Supreme Court of Canada (“Court”) held that the law societies of British Columbia and Ontario were entitled to deny accreditation to a law school which required its students, on religious grounds, to adhere to a covenant allowing sexual intimacy only between a married man and woman.