Journal article
A "duty to disclose" for service offences? Holcombe and its implications for military law
Australian Law Journal , Vol.97(7), pp.485-500
24/07/2023
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Abstract
Military forces around the world occupy a unique position among other employers: they have their own administration system, their own justice system, their own prison system. Yet much of the operation of these independent systems goes unnoticed by members of the public and unrecognised by broader justice frameworks. Such blindness can have tragic results. On 5 November 2017, a former United States Air Force (USAF) airman Devin Kelley opened fire in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing 26 and wounding another 22. In the civil litigation which followed, the US District Court found the USAF partly liable for failing to disclose a conviction for Kelley which would have prevented him from legally purchasing the firearm used in the shooting. So, under what circumstances might a military force owe a duty of care to the public to notify it of such circumstances? This article engages with that question (particularly examining Australian military law) to mount the argument that in certain circumstances the Australian Defence Force (ADF) may owe a duty of care to civilian authorities to notify them of certain conduct by ADF members.
Details
- Title
- A "duty to disclose" for service offences? Holcombe and its implications for military law
- Creators
- Brendan Walker-Munro
- Publication Details
- Australian Law Journal , Vol.97(7), pp.485-500
- Publisher
- Lawbook Co.
- Identifiers
- 991013167313102368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Business, Law and Arts
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article