ABSTRACT Victoria’s Model Litigant Guidelines (MLGs) aim to regulate the conduct of government parties in civil disputes in a manner that goes beyond the ethical duties of ordinary litigants. Despite the sheer number of disputes involving the Victorian government to which the regime applies, little academic attention has been given to Victoria’s MLGs. The article explores the nature and extent of the regulatory force exerted by the MLGs by applying regulatory theory to the MLG regime. Particular attention is given to applying Ayers and Braithwaite’s theory of Responsive Regulation that includes situating the guidelines within their regulatory pyramid. The analysis finds that in the absence of a distinct regulator, the MLG regime is predominantly self-regulatory. The responsiveness of the MLGs appears to be restricted owing to an absence of public involvement in the MLG regime. The article also highlights that likely challenges to the MLG regime as a mode of regulation include the nature of the regulatory context, the decentralisation of government services, the lack of publicly available information on the government’s adherence to the MLGs and the content of the MLGs themselves.

中文翻译：

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对政府诉讼当事人及其律师的监管：维多利亚州示范诉讼指南的监管力量

摘要 维多利亚州的示范诉讼指南 (MLG) 旨在以超出普通诉讼人道德义务的方式规范政府当事人在民事纠纷中的行为。尽管涉及该制度适用的维多利亚州政府的纠纷数量众多，但学术界很少关注维多利亚州的 MLG。本文通过将监管理论应用于 MLG 制度，探讨了 MLG 施加的监管力量的性质和范围。特别注意应用 Ayers 和 Braithwaite 的响应式监管理论，包括将指南置于其监管金字塔内。分析发现，在没有明确监管者的情况下，MLG 制度主要是自我监管。由于 MLG 制度缺乏公众参与，MLG 的反应似乎受到限制。文章还强调，作为监管模式的 MLG 制度可能面临的挑战包括监管环境的性质、政府服务的权力下放、缺乏关于政府遵守 MLG 的公开信息以及 MLG 本身的内容。 .