The February 2008 edition of the Human Rights Law Resource Centre Bulletin includes:
- An opinion piece about the Victorian Charter of Human Rights by the Hon Rob Hulls MP, Deputy Premier and Attorney-General for Victoria
- News about a major UK report on human rights and improved public services and a new UN post to address violence against children
- Updates on the Victorian Charter of Rights, including a case note on the first substantive decision on the Charter from the Supreme Court, the promulgation of new regulations, and analyses of recent Statements of Compatibility
- Updates on other Charters of Rights, including a summary of the report of the Consultative Committee for the proposed WA Human Rights Act
- Case notes on significant recent human rights decisions from the European Court of Human Rights (access to adequate mental health care for prisoners; the right to private and family life for prisoners; the right to an oral hearing and permissible limitations on the right to a fair and public hearing; the relevance of the proximity of a trial to the question of bail) and the UK High Court (the handcuffing of prisoners with a medical condition)
- Information about the Centre’s policy work, including in relation to the review of the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic) and the recent adoption of a General Comment on the Right to Social Security by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Updates on the Centre’s casework and litigation, including in relation to access to legal resources for prisoners and the obligations of homelessness charities as ‘public authorities’ under the Victorian Charter
- Details of forthcoming human rights seminars and events, including with Sir Gerard Brennan (former Chief Justice of Australia) and Prof Martin Scheinin (UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism)
- Information about useful human rights resources, including additions to the Centre’s website
- An update on international human rights developments from our foreign correspondent in Geneva, Claire Mahon
- ‘If I were Attorney-General’ by Waleed Aly, Lecturer with the Global Terrorism Research Centre at Monash University
