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Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG)
The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) comprises the Attorneys-General of the Commonwealth and States and Territories and the Minister of Justice of New Zealand. The Executive Member for Legal Matters of Norfolk Island has observer status at the meetings.
SCAG provides a forum for Attorneys-General to discuss and progress matters of mutual interest. It seeks to achieve uniform or harmonised action within the portfolio responsibilities of its members.
For many years SCAG has been successfully developing uniform and model laws to reduce jurisdictional difference and create national systems. Some of the matters developed by SCAG in recent years include:
- uniform defamation laws
- model evidence laws
- national model laws for the legal profession
- model provisions for the enforcement of foreign judgments
- uniform commercial arbitration laws
- legislation to allow for the interstate recognition of apprehended violence orders
- model Crown Proceedings legislation
- referral of corporations power to the Commonwealth (in conjunction with MINCO)
SCAG is also the forum through which Australian Government and State and Territory Censorship Ministers oversee the National Classification Scheme, a cooperative arrangement under which the Classification Board classifies films (including videos and DVDs), computer games and certain publications.
SCAG generally meets three times a year, for two days. The meetings are held in each jurisdiction on a rotating basis. The Minister hosting the particular meeting, chairs that meeting. Censorship Ministers generally meet twice a year to discuss the operation of the National Classification Scheme, its legislation and other issues such as topical research and guidelines reviews
The most recent SCAG meeting was held in Sydney on 5-6 November 2009. Read the Communiqué and Summary of Decisions from that meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for 29-30 April 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria.
Current Projects
Projects on the current SCAG agenda cover a number of challenging contemporary justice issues such as:
- developing a comprehensive national response to organised crime
- addressing Indigenous disadvantage in law and justice
- harmonising Australia’s law on secured financing using personal property, and
- modernising uniform law on electronic transactions and commercial arbitration
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