By and -

Snapshot

  • Australian courts are becoming increasingly responsive to accommodating First Nations cultural needs in criminal proceedings.
  • Several recent cases have developed precedent for admitting cultural evidence and accommodating cultural differences for First Nations participants in criminal proceedings.
  • Practitioners acting for First Nations people should familiarise themselves with these cases in order to ensure their safe participation in such cases.

First Nations laws and customs have existed for millennia. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of these laws and customs in New South Wales courts. This article explores the courts’ consideration of First Nations culture through the decisions in Lacey (a pseudonym) v Attorney General for New South Wales [2021] NSWCA 27 (‘Lacey’), Hobson v Commonwealth of Australia [2022] FCA 418 (‘Hobson’) and more recently in Davis v R [2024] NSWCCA 120 (‘Davis’). Each decision demonstrates a positive trend towards including cultural knowledge and providing cultural safety in conventional Anglo-Australian legal proceedings.

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