HEATHER DOUGLAS is a professor at the TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.   MARK FINNANE is ARC Australian Professorial Fellow and Chief Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security, Griffith University, Australia.

• Introduction: Histories.- 'Troublesome Friends and Dangerous Enemies'.- Amenable to the Law.- The Exercise of Jurisdiction.- A Question of Custom.- Equality Before the Law.- Towards Formal Recognition.- 'Benign Pessimism': A National Emergency.- Conclusion: Sovereignties.

"Heather Douglas and Mark Finnane expose the myth of 'perfect sovereignty' in Australia in this important book. Their meticulous historical study demonstrates that although, according to international law, the English acquired sovereignty over the entire continent upon settlement...the exertion of sovereignty and the exercise of criminal jurisdiction over Indigenous people has been, in practice, uneven, piecemeal and imperfect." - Tanya Mitchell, Current Issues in Criminal Justice, Volume 25 Number 2