Fed: Legal system decades behind science, says Einfeld

AAP General News (Australia)
04-28-2000
Fed: Legal system decades behind science, says Einfeld

A senior judge says the legal system has fallen decades behind scientific advances
and may find it increasingly difficult to cope.

Federal Court Justice MARCUS EINFELD says it has become too hard and too political
for change to be made in the justice arena to keep up with technological advances.

His comments follow the recent concerns of High Court Justice MICHAEL KIRBY, who questioned
how the legal system would cope with genetic evidence linked to the Human Genome Project
in court cases.

Justice KIRBY said the genome project would reveal that some people's anti-social behaviour
could be caused by their genetic pre-disposition.

Justice EINFELD says legal thinkers can't match the rapid advances in science which
in turn set up a minefield in legal and moral issues for the courts.

Justice EINFELD has also pointed to the recent legal wrangling over euthanasia, heroin-injecting
rooms and surrogacy issues as matters the courts find increasingly difficult to deal with.

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KEYWORD: GENETIC (BRISBANE)

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