Human Rights Law Resource Centre » 2008

TV Vest AS & Rogaland Pensjonisparti v Norway [2008] ECHR 21132/05 (11 December 2008)

dmounce — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 21:13:35 +0000

In this case, the European Court of Human Rights considered the right to freedom of expression in the context of political advertising in the media. This judgment again shows that there must be a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the legitimate aim pursued by a statutory prohibition and the means deployed to achieve that aim.

Detailed case note.

RJE v Secretary to the Department of Justice [2008] VSCA 131 (18 December 2008)

dmounce — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 07:08:42 +0000

In this case, Nettle J of the Victorian Court of Appeal considered the scope and operation of s 32(1) of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights, which provides that ‘so far as it is possible to do so consistently with their purpose, all statutory provisions must be interpreted in a way that is compatible with human rights’.

Pursuant to s 32(1), Nettle J determined that the term ‘likely’ in s 11 of the Serious Sex Offenders Monitoring Act 2005 (Vic), which provides that a court may make an ‘extended supervision order’ in respect of an offender if satisfied to a high degree of probability that the offender is likely to re-offend, should be interpreted to mean ‘at least more likely than not’.

Detailed case note.

Savage v South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust [2008] UKHL 74 (10 December 2008)

dmounce — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:58:39 +0000

The House of Lords has held that, pursuant to the right to life, health authorities have an ‘over-arching obligation to protect the lives of patients in their hospitals’. This obligation includes a duty to ensure that staff are highly trained, professional and competent and that the policies, procedures and systems in place at the hospital adequately safeguard life.

In addition to this ‘general obligation’, hospitals are under an ‘operational obligation’ to take all reasonable steps and measures to prevent the suicide of any patient that the hospital knows or ought to have known presents a ‘real and immediate’ risk of suicide.

Detailed case note.

Wellington R, (On the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] UKHL 72 (10 December 2008)

dmounce — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:25:31 +0000

The House of Lords has held that a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole does not necessarily constitute inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Detailed case note.

Dzieciak v Poland [2008] ECHR 77761/01 (9 December 2008)

dmounce — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:29:30 +0000

The case concerns the applicant’s complaint about the excessive length of his pre-trial detention and inadequacy of the medical care he had received during that time. After the applicant’s death, the applicant’s wife alleged that the authorities contributed to her husband’s death by failing to take the appropriate measures to protect his health and life.

Detailed case note.

S and Marper v United Kingdom [2008] ECHR 30562/04 [Grand Chamber] (4 December 2008)

dmounce — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:53:20 +0000

The case of S and Marper v United Kingdom considered whether the retention of DNA and fingerprints from innocent people is consistent with human rights law.

This case will be particularly informative for the interpretation and application of s 13 (privacy) and s 7 (limitations) of the Victorian Charter.

Detailed case note.

Salduz v Turkey [2008] ECHR 36391/02 [Grand Chamber] (27 November 2008)

dmounce — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:54:40 +0000

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has overruled a lower chamber decision, finding that the right to a fair trial (prescribed in art 6 of European Convention on Human Rights) includes access to legal assistance during the investigation stage of a suspect by the police.

Detailed case note.

R (on the application of JL) v Secretary of State for Justice [2008] UKHL 68 (26 November 2008)

dmounce — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:30:28 +0000

The House of Lords has recently unanimously held that the right to life established by art 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights requires the state to carry out an independent investigation whenever a person is left incapacitated by a suicide attempt in custody.

Detailed case note.

E (a child), Re (Northern Ireland) [2008] UKHL 66 (12 November 2008)

dmounce — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:31:28 +0000

In this case, the House of Lords decided that a police response to sectarian unrest in Northern Ireland did not constitute a breach by the State of its positive obligation to prevent the infliction of inhuman and degrading treatment upon its citizens under art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Baroness Hale discussed how the special vulnerability of children impacted upon the State’s obligations under article 3.

Detailed case note.

Seachange Management Pty Ltd v Bevnol Constructions & Developments Pty Ltd & Ors (Domestic Building) [2008] VCAT 2629 (25 November 2008)

dmounce — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:30:30 +0000

In this case, VCAT found that the Charter rights to a fair hearing (s 24) and the rights in criminal proceedings (s 25) do not extend to persons who are being investigated by police for possible commission of a criminal offence.

Detailed case note.