Staff profile

Mr Jeffrey Wilson Barnes

Senior Lecturer in Law

Faculty of Business, Economics and Law

La Trobe Law School

Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

BJuris (UNSW), MPubLaw (ANU)

Membership of professional Associations

Australian Institute of Administrative Law (Sec, Victorian Chapter); Cth Assoc Legislative Counsel; Law Institute of Vict; Australasian Law Teachers\\\\\\\' Association; Council of Australasian Tribunals

Area of study

Law

Brief Profile

Jeffrey Barnes is a graduate of the University of New South Wales and the Australian National University. He is a Senior Lecturer, School of Law, La Trobe University. He is a former co-editor of Legal Education Review and recently completed a term as the inaugural Director of Teaching and Learning in the law school. His teaching and research interests lie in the areas of public law, the legislative process, and statutory interpretation. He teaches four subjects: Administrative Law; Principles of Public Law; Legal Change, Legislation and Law Reform; and Statutory Interpretation.

His research interests currently focus on legislative drafting and statutory interpretation. His recent publications include articles on: the plain language movement — in Statute Law Review; sources of doubt as to the meaning of legislation — in Legisprudence; and the interpretation of plain language legislation — in Melbourne University Law Review. He wrote the chapter on ‘Statutory Interpretation’ in the festschrift for Michael Kirby, Appealing to the Future: Michael Kirby and His Legacy. He is completing a PhD on the plain English movement and legislation. 

Apart from his academic work, Jeffrey Barnes has practised law extensively —  as a Legal Officer (legislative drafter) with the Parliamentary Counsel's Office of NSW; law reporter for the Australian Law Reports*; Associate to Justice Michael Kirby (Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission); Law Reform Officer, Australian Law Reform Commission*; solicitor, Stephen Jaques Stone James; Project Officer for the Administrative Review Council; Legal Member, Social Security Appeals Tribunal*; and Consultant for the Australian Capital Territory Parliamentary Counsel's Office* and for the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (Cth).*  The ACT consultancy on the Public Access to Legislation project resulted in an innovative partial codification of the law of interpretation for the Australian Capital Territory.

* = part-time appointments

Teaching Units

Administrative Law

Statutory Interpretation

Legal Change, Legislation and Law Reform

Principles of Public Law

Recent Publications

Monographs

Administrative Law, Butterworths Questions and Answers (LexisNexis, Sydney: 2007) 2nd ed, 360+xvii pp (with R Douglas) (primary responsibility for chs 1, 2, 9-11, 13-15) ISBN 9780409323689  

Administrative Law, Butterworths Questions and Answers (LexisNexis Butterworths, Sydney: 2003) 322+xiv pp (with R Douglas) (primary responsibility for chs 1, 2, 9-11, 13-15) ISBN 0409318264  

Chapters in books

“Statutory Interpretation” in Ian Freckelton and Hugh Selby (eds), Appealing to the Future: Michael Kirby and his Legacy (Thomson Reuters, Sydney, 2009) ch 29 (pp 721-750) ISBN 9780455226699/9780455226682

Refereed journal articles  

"Statutory Objects Provisions: How Cogent is the Research and Commentary?" Statute Law Review 2012; doi: 10.1093/slr/hms039; access at <http://slr.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/hms039? ijkey=1I0uSz2CkaE67rz&keytype=ref>

"When 'Plain Language' Legislation is Ambiguous - Sources of Doubt and Lessons for the Plain Language Movement" (2010) 34(3) Melbourne University Law Review 671-707

“Guiding Principles All at Sea” (2008) 82(8) Law Institute Journal 58-61 (with John Willis)  

“Sources of Doubt and the Quest for Legal Certainty” (2008) 2(2) Legisprudence: International Journal for the Study of Legislation 119-154  

"The Life Cycle of Law Reform" (2006) 9(2) Flinders Journal of Law Reform 227-249 (review essay)  

"The Continuing Debate about 'Plain Language' Legislation: A Law Reform Conundrum" (2006) 27(2) Statute Law Review 83-132  

Journal editorships  

(2004) 14(2) Legal Education Review (co-editor) [published in 2005] ISSN 10032839  

(2003-4) 14(1) Legal Education Review (co-editor) [published in 2004] ISSN 10032839  

(2002) 13(2) Legal Education Review (co-editor) [published in 2003] ISSN 10032839  

(2002) 13(1) Legal Education Review (co-editor) ISSN 10032839  

(2001) 12(1&2) Legal Education Review (co-editor) ISSN 10032839  

(2000) 11(2) Legal Education Review (co-editor) [published in 2001] ISSN 10032839  

(2000) 11(1) Legal Education Review (acting Chief Editor) ISSN 10032839