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Victorian Charter of Human Rights
Director of Public Transport v XFJ [2010] VSC 319 (29 July 2010)
The Victorian Supreme Court has affirmed the importance of a broad approach to the construction of human rights in the Charter, including appropriate reliance on international human rights law and comparative jurisprudence.
Facts
This case concerned the accreditation of XFJ to drive a taxi.
In 1990, XFJ [...]
Castles v Secretary to the Department of Justice [2010] VSC 310 (9 July 2010)
On 9 July 2010, the Supreme Court of Victoria found that the plaintiff, Kimberley Castles, is entitled under s 47(1)(f) of the Corrections Act 1986 to undergo IVF treatment. The finding overturns a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Justice [...]
On 18 June 2010, the Centre made a Submission to the Office of Police Integrity inquiry into the investigation of deaths associated with police contact. The HRLRC submitted that in order to discharge its obligations under the Victorian Charter, the Government needs to establish a human rights-compliant framework for the investigation of deaths associated with [...]
Director of Housing v Sudi [2010] VCAT 328 (31 March 2010)
Justice Bell, sitting as President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, has held that the Director of Housing acted unlawfully under s 38(1) of the Charter in seeking, without adequate justification, to evict a refugee family from social housing in breach of their right [...]
On 9 March, the Equal Opportunity Bill 2010 was introduced into Victorian Parliament. The proposed legislative reforms include the establishment of new mechanisms designed to respond to systemic discrimination and promote substantive equality.
The reforms respond to a major review of the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 conducted by Julian Gardner in 2007-2008 which found that Victoria’s [...]
In a landmark decision, R v Momcilovic [2010] VSCA 50 (17 March 2010), the Victorian Court of Appeal has unanimously held that:
s 32(1) of the Charter is not a ‘special’ rule of statutory interpretation, but rather a statutory directive that requires all persons engaged in the task of statutory interpretation to ‘explore all possible interpretations [...]
XYZ v Victoria Police [2010] VCAT 255 (16 March 2010)
In a significant decision, Bell J has held that the right to freedom of expression under s 15(2) of the Victorian Charter ‘incorporates a positive right to obtain access to government-held documents’. His Honour found, however, that the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) is substantively [...]
The excessive use of force by police or inhumane treatment of persons in police custody undermines the integrity of a State’s operations. It also breaches the right to life and the right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment (ill-treatment) which are protected by ss 9 and 10 of the Victorian Charter.
The [...]
The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission has just released a major research report on ‘Developing a Bill of Rights for the UK’.
The report aims to ‘identify and explore best practice processes for developing a new Bill of Rights for the UK’. The report analyses evidence from related domestic and international experiences (including the ACT, [...]
In November 2008, the Centre was granted leave to appear as amicus curiae in a matter concerning the meaning of ‘public authority’ under the Victorian Charter. This is a question of great significance, as it is public authorities who are bound to act compatibly with and give proper consideration to human rights. The issue arose [...]
Centre Granted Leave to Appear as Amicus Curiae in Victorian Court of Appeal
On 22 July, the Centre was granted leave to appear and was heard as amicus curiae in the Victorian Court of Appeal in the matter of Momcilovic v R.
The matter concerns the application of the Charter and the interpretation of s 5 of the [...]
On 29 June 2009, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a short submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s inquiry into Surveillance in Public Places entitled Surveillance in Public Places: A Human Rights Perspective. Its primary recommendation is that the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s draft principles to guide public place surveillance be amended to [...]
Centre Granted Leave to Appear as Amicus Curiae in Right to Life Test Case
On 17 June, the Centre was granted leave to appear as amicus curiae in the Victorian Supreme Court in the matter of Chief Commissioner of Police v Bryant (in his capacity as Coroner).
The case concerned a coronial inquest into the death of [...]
VCAT Makes Declaration of Breach of Human Rights in Major Charter Test Case
On 23 April 2009, Justice Bell, President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, handed down a much anticipated decision which discussed in detail important aspects of the application and operation of the Charter. The case concerned the compulsory medical treatment of a [...]
Human rights belong to everyone. The case studies on this page show that human rights are not just for lawyers, celebrities and criminals; they are an important tool that can help create a more just society where everyone receives a fair go. The case studies illustrate how human rights laws can be used to encourage [...]
The purpose of this training workshop is to equip lawyers to educate workers in community organisations about the Charter.
Specifically, the objectives of the workshop are that the participants should be able to:
Understand human rights and how they are protected in the Charter
Identify relevant human rights in real life scenarios
Understand how the Charter can [...]
General Materials
Comparative and International Materials
Articles and Commentary – General Materials
Simeon Beckett, ‘Interpreting Legislation Consistently with Human Rights’, Paper to the 2007 National Administrative Law Forum, 14-15 June 2007
Carlo Carli MP, ‘The Victorian Charter of Rights and Responsibilities and Scrutiny in Victoria’, Paper to the Australia NZ Scrutiny of Parliament Conference, August 2007
Julie Debeljak, ‘Balancing Rights [...]
The following primary documents can be downloaded here:
Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic)
Explanatory Memorandum to Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Bill 2006
Second Reading Speech to Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Bill 2006
Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities (General) Regulations 2007 (Vic)
Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities (Public Authorities) (Interim) Regulations [...]
The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) entered into full force on 1 January 2008. The Charter enshrines a body of civil and political rights derived from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
These rights include:
right to equality before the law;
right to life;
right to protection from torture and cruel, [...]
The Human Rights Law Resource Centre has produced a comprehensive Guide to the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities (current as at 20 July 2007).
The Guide contains the following sections:
Overview of Charter
Interpreting and Applying the Charter
Substantive Rights and Limitations
Scrutiny of Legislation
Override Declarations
Statutory Interpretation
Public Authorities
Remedies
Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights [...]
Section 28 of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities requires that a Statement of Compatibility must be prepared and tabled in respect of any proposed legislation.
The Statement must specify, in the member’s opinion, whether and how the Bill is compatible with human rights and, if any part of the Bill is incompatible with [...]
On 8 May 2008 the Minister for Health announced a review of the Mental Health Act 1986 (Vic). In December 2008 a Consultation Paper designed to stimulate discussion and raise key issues was released.
This submission by the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Dignity, Equality, Freedom and Respect: A Human Rights-Based Approach to Mental Health [Word] [PDF], focuses [...]
The Victorian Department of Justice, in conjunction with the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, recently announced that it was working on a national model Bill for a spent convictions scheme and invited the HRLRC to make a submission in relation to a draft Bill. The purpose of a spent convictions scheme is broadly to limit the [...]
The Corrections Amendment Bill 2008 (Vic) was introduced to Parliament in July 2008. According to s 1 of the Bill, it ‘provides for the creation of prisoner compensation quarantine funds for the purpose of paying into those funds certain damages awarded to prisoners and to provide for the payments out of those funds of certain [...]
In May 2008, the Victorian Government Department of Human Services commenced a broad review of mental health services.
People with mental illness in Victoria experience discrimination within society and the health care system which causes significant social disadvantage. The review aims to shift focus from a response based on illness and acute intervention to one emphasising [...]
In November 2007, the Attorney-General initiated an independent review to make recommendations in relation to particular aspects of the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic).
As part of the Review, the Reviewer, Julian Gardner, prepared a Discussion Paper which outlines the key questions to be considered by the Review. The Discussion Paper invited responses to a series [...]
On 6 February 2008, the Centre’s Director, Phil Lynch, gave evidence as an expert witness in support of a Freedom of Information application for access to a report prepared by the Corrections Inspectorate regarding separation orders and high security and management units in Victorian prisons.
The matter is being heard in the Victorian Civil and Administrative [...]
On 1 August 2007, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a submission, entitled Fostering a Human Rights Culture, to the Consultation Committee for the Proposed Western Australian Human Rights Act.
The submission was prepared with substantial input from Allens Arthur Robinson, one of Australia’s leading commercial law firms.
On 20 December 2007, the Consultation Committee released [...]
In August 2007, the Brumby Government introduced legislation, the Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2007, which, among other things, provides for:
the interception or censorship of correspondence sent by or to prisoners; and
the use of firearms by prison officers when prisoners are attempting to escape.
The Bill was accompanied by a Statement of Compatibility under the Victorian [...]
In this paper, ‘What Difference can a Human Rights Charter Make?’, delivered to a joint seminar of the Human Rights Law Resource Centre and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission on 15 August 2007, Lord Robert Walker of the UK House of Lords reflects on his experience ‘judging’ human rights under the UK Human [...]
The HRLRC has made submissions to inquiries that have been conducted by both the Tasmanian and Western Australian governments into the need for comprehensive human rights legislation in those states:
WA Human Rights Act Inquiry (Dec and Aug 2007)
A Charter of Rights for Tasmania (Nov 2006)
On 13 February 2007, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre made a submission to the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council in response to their Discussion and Options Paper, entitled High-Risk Offenders: Post-Sentence Supervision and Detention.
As the Paper identifies, a scheme of post-sentence supervision and detention may be incompatible with or infringe a range of human rights under both [...]
On 21 December 2006, the Centre made a submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission Civil Justice Review entitled, The Right to a Fair Hearing: The Relevance of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) to Civil Justice.
The submission considers the impact that the Victorian Charter, specifically the right to a ‘fair hearing’ [...]
In November 2006, the Human Rights Law Resource Centre and Blake Dawson Waldron made a joint submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission Civil Justice Review, entitled ‘Why are Non-Parties Non-Starters? A Call for Clearer Procedures and Guidelines for Amicus Curiae Applications in Victoria’.
The submission sets out:
the distinction between amici curiae, interveners and other non-parties; [...]
On behalf of the HRLRC, Allens Arthur Robinson has prepared a Human Rights Education Strategy Report (’Report’).
The Report is an excellent summary of human rights education programs in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. With recent experience from those jurisdictions demonstrating that education is critical to the effective implementation [...]
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