“Unification and Harmonisatton” of the Rules of Law

Abstract

In Australia there are nine bodies of legislation; Commonwealth, State and Territorial. The laws within each of these systems may differ from each other in significant ways. Such differences, especially when occurring in areas of “technical law”, may cause considerable inconvenience to Australians and to their legal advisers. In social and economic terms, for many purposes Australia is a single nation, and is not divided by State boundaries. Enactment of uniform laws in each part of Australia could lead to much greater convenience for businesses, individual citizens and lawyers.

This article examines some of the ways in which international organisations and bodies within other federal nations have been working towards the unification and harmonisation of rules of law, in selected areas. From this examination, some parallels are drawn with the situation in Australia. The article also makes some suggestions for greater uniformity of laws in Australia against the political background which may explain why law in Australia has come to be diverse.