Attached is the October 2008 edition of the Human Rights Law Resource Centre Bulletin.
This edition of the Bulletin includes:
- An opinion piece by Peter Seidel of Arnold Bloch Leibler entitled ‘Time to Get Real with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’
- News about Australia’s proposed ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, a parliamentary inquiry into the promotion of human rights in the Asia-Pacific, and the appointment of a new Senior Lawyer with the Human Rights Law Resource Centre
- Updates on the Victorian Charter of Rights, including a new Supreme Court Practice Note, a VCOSS report on using the Charter in policy and practice, and an analysis of the Statements of Compatibility on the Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008, the County Court Amendment (Koori Court) Bill and the Corrections Amendment Bill
- Updates on other Charters of Rights, including the cross-party proposal for a UK Bill of Rights
- Victorian Charter case notes, including in relation to unrepresented litigants, the presumption of innocence, and equal opportunity exemptions
[Note: All Victorian case notes published in the Bulletin are also published on the Centre's searchable database within 5 days of publication of the Bulletin] - Comparative law case notes on significant recent human rights decisions from UK courts (torture and the right to a fair trial) and ACT courts (right to legal representation in civil proceedings)
[Note: All comparative case notes published in the Bulletin are also published on the Centre's searchable database within 5 days of publication of the Bulletin] - Information about the Centre’s policy work, including in relation to Australia’s implementation of the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee against Torture, the proposed establishment of an Independent Reviewer of terrorism laws and same-sex equality
- Updates on the Centre’s casework and litigation, including in relation to prison conditions in Tasmania
- Details of forthcoming human rights seminars and events
- Information about useful human rights resources
- Updates on major international human rights developments from our foreign correspondent at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Melinda Ching Simon
- ‘If I were Attorney-General’ by Melanie Schleiger, a lawyer on secondment to the Centre from Lander & Rogers
