National

QLD: Clayton Utz Alexander Freeleagus Oration: “Constitutional Bargains – power to the people, who gets what?” – 22 November 2019

Professor Josiah Ober, Mitsotakis Professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University, delivered this year’s Queensland Chapter of Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association Clayton Utz Alexander Freeleagus Oration.

It was titled “Constitutional Bargains – power to the people, who gets what?”.

The Oration was held on Friday 22 November 2019 at the offices of Clayton Utz in Brisbane and a reception followed.

Those attending included members of the Freeleagus family, the Patron of the Queensland Chapter of HAL, The Hon Anthe Philippides, Justice of Appeal, Supreme Court of Queensland, and other eminent jurists, HAL Chapter representatives, His Grace, Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis, Archiepiscopol Vicar for Qld and PNG, and guests.

Synopsis of “Constitutional Bargains – power to the people, who gets what?”

World history is filled with cases in which disagreements over distribution of social goods, between the Haves and Have-Nots devolved into zero-sum conflict, typically with tragic results for one or both sides.

In early sixth-century BC Athens, violent conflict between rich and poor was narrowly avoided when the two sides agreed to allow the poet-statesman Solon to arbitrate their dispute – and then to establish a new constitutional order for their state.

While Solon described his law-making as achieving justice, the ancient tradition concerning Solon recognized that his accomplishment was not ideal justice. Rather it was to find the equilibrium solution to a difficult bargaining game – one in which each side ended up with less than it hoped for, but more than could be got by fighting.

Subsequent Athenian constitutional history – the development of the world’s first well-documented democracy – is best understood as a continuation of the practice of bargaining among interested parties.

That process eventuated in a culture that emphasized the common good of “the people” and that gave individual citizens reasons to sacrifice short-term personal advantage in favor of long-term collective flourishing.

Professor Ober has provided source material relating to this Oration:

  1. Slides of his presentation “Constitutional Bargains – power to the people, who gets what?”
  2. Handout material accompanying this Oration.

Pictures from the event

22 November, 2019 in QLD

NT Oration – Professor Josiah Ober on ‘The Origins of Social Order: self-interest, rationality and the common good’ – 20 Nov 2019

Professor Josiah Ober, Mitsotakis Professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University, delivered this year’s Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association Northern Territory Chapter Oration.

Professor Ober spoke on the topic “The Origins of Social Order: self-interest, rationality and the common good”.

Those attending included NT Supreme Court Justice Jenny Blokland, NT Supreme Court Justice Judith Kelly, NT Supreme Court Justice Graham Hiley, ICAC Commissioner Kenneth Fleming QC, Justice Dean Mildren QC, Chief Judge Elizabeth Morris, Judge John Neill, Judge Therese Austin, ICAC General manager Matthew Grant, Liquor Commissioner Chairperson Richard Coates, Liquor Commission Deputy Chairperson Jodi Truman, Dr John Garrick – University Fellow in Law, CDU College of Business & Law, President of the NT Law Society Maria Savvas, Law Council Treasurer Tass Liveris, other eminent jurists, the National President of HAL Mr Mal Varitimos QC CBE, HAL Northern Territory Chapter Chair Suzi Kapetas and guests.

It was held on Wednesday 20 November 2019 at the Supreme Court of Northern Territory in Darwin and was followed by a reception.

Video recording of Professor Josiah Ober, of Stanford University, delivering the NT HAL Chapter Oration.

Professor Ober works on the history of institutions and on legal and political theory, with an emphasis on democracy and on the political thought and practice of the ancient Greek world.

Synopsis of The Origins of Social Order: self-interest, rationality and the common good

How can rationally self-interested persons ever manage to cooperate in ways that allow for the emergence of law and order, and thereby the consolidation of a workable society?

Is extensive cooperation in a law-based regime possible without a lawless third-party enforcer?

Thomas Hobbes raised the first question and answered the second in the negative in his great work Leviathan.

They remain at the center of contemporary work by social scientists on rationality of choice and game theory. But 2000 years before Hobbes, and 2400 years before the invention of modern choice theory, Greek philosophers raised the same hard questions and answered them very differently.

Plato’s dialogues (and other Greek texts) offer a profound theoretical exploration of the question of why cooperation is difficult, how legal order arises without a lawless sovereign, the conditions under which people may rationally agree to obey the law, and under which they will actively join in costly punishment of those who violate the rules.

Professor Ober has provided source material relating to the NT Chapter Oration:

  1. Slides of his NT Oration presentation “The Origins of Social Order: self-interest, rationality and the common good“
  2. Handout material accompanying the NT Oration.

Pictures from the event

20 November, 2019 in NT

WA Robert French AC Oration – 31 Oct 2019

Chief Justice of Western Australia, the Hon Peter Quinlan, delivered the HAL (WA) Chapter’s Robert French AC Oration in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on 31 October.

HAL WA Chapter members and guests attended the annual Oration, which was followed by a reception.

Paper

The Chief Justice of Western Australia, the Hon Peter Quinlan, delivered “The common law, contemporary values and Sophocles’ Antigone”.

Pictures from the Event

27 September, 2019 in WA

SA: The John Perry AO QC Oration 2019 – 30 Aug 2019

The South Australian Chapter of the Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association hosted the John William Perry AO QC Oration before a capacity crowd on 30 August in Adelaide.

The well-attended Oration took the format of a “Great Debate”, with the topic: “The role of lawyers in modern society is in terminal decline”, and was held at the Published Arthouse.

Photographs from the Event

The “For” team consisted of Enzo Belperio (Barrister – Bar Chambers), Rachael Gray QC (Barrister – Victoria Square Chambers) and The Honourable Justice Samuel Doyle (Supreme Court of South Australia).

The “Against” team consisted of William Boucaut QC (Barrister – Len King Chambers), Mark Livesey QC (Barrister – Bar Chambers) and The Honourable Justice Natalie Charlesworth (Federal Court of Australia).

Adjudicator was The Honourable Chief Justice Chris Kourakis (Supreme Court of South Australia).

The Honourable Justice Melissa A Perry (Federal Court of Australia) was Speaker.

For more information about the Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association in South Australia contact Louis Leventis at lleventis@leventislawyers.com.au or call (08) 8410 0008

9 September, 2019 in SA