SCU Law Review Volume 4 December 2000

Foreword

Sam Garkawe

Co-Editor

This special issue of the Southern Cross Law Review has its origins in a one-day conference on Restoring the Rule of Law in Burma, which took place in Sydney on Friday 6th August 1999. The main driving force behind the Conference was a NSW North Coast politician, Janelle Saffin, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council and the Honorary Secretary of the Australian Section of the Burma Lawyers Council. Without her drive, initiative and dedication to the people of Burma, the Conference, and thus this edition of the Law Review, would not have been possible.

I would like further to thank all the speakers at the Conference, who each helped to make the Conference such a success. Thanks must also go to the NSW Law Society who were the School of Law and Justice's Conference partners and helped finance and organise the Conference. Also I wish to express my appreciation to the then Vice-Chancellor of Southern Cross University, Professor Barry Conyngham, and the other sponsor of the Conference, the NSW Law Foundation, whose generous financial support was also vital to the success of the Conference.

The decision to dedicate a special issue of the Review to the theme of the Conference was made at a later stage, and this is the first time an edition of the Review has been dedicated to a particular theme. Special thanks must go to the Head of the School of Law and Justice, Associate Professor Brian Fitzgerald, for approving the proposal. Some of the speakers from the Conference contributed their papers to this Law Review. To each of these speakers I wish to express my gratitude, especially as they did not know at the time they gave their papers that we would subsequently be asking them to produce an academic article! The fact that each did so despite being very busy elsewhere was indicative of the importance they placed on this conference and the dedication they have for the welfare of the people of Burma and to the rule of law in Burma.

I would also like to express my gratitude to those who contributed to the issue but who were not speakers at the Conference. A special thanks also to my co-editor, Myint Zan, for his help with the Review and whose knowledge of Burma, the issues pertaining to it, and editorial skills have been outstanding. Thanks also to the student editor, Adrian Lipscomb, who did a considerable amount of behind-the-scenes work in bringing the publication of the Review to fruition. Both have made significant contributions to this Special Issue, and both spent much time over and above the call of duty working on the Review. Without them the publication of this edition would not have been possible.

As a human rights lawyer and as a person vitally interested in issues concerning social justice I would made the observation that changing the situation inside Burma represents a large challenge to Australia, the Asian region and to the world. It is hoped that this special issue will, in some small way, help to contribute towards this goal.

© 2000 Southern Cross University and Contributors.
Published by Southern Cross University Law Review