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 expressly reflect human rights standards and obligations.
Below is a brief summary of the submission on Surveillance in Public Places: A Human Rights Perspective.
The Human Rights Framework
The submission sets out the applicable human rights framework, namely the obligations applying under the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006. It also considers the impact of the Charter on policy decisions, and draws comparisons with other jurisdictions with a human rights act.
Right to Privacy
The submission sets out the sources of the right to privacy, namely art 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and s 13 of the Charter. It then considers the limitations on the right to privacy, and draws on jurisprudence illustrative the scop of the right to privacy.
Options for Reform
Given the technical nature of surveillance mechanisms and our lack of expertise in relation to these technical matters, the HRLRC did not consider it appropriate to comment on the substance of the laws. Instead, the HRLRC endorsed Liberty Victoria’s submission to the Inquiry which we believe accords with the relevant human rights principles.
Whilst Surveillance in Public Places: A Human Rights Perspective is a short submission, we consider that it makes a valuable contribution to the Inquiry and will, hopefully, enable reform in the area of Public Place Surveillance to be conducted within the requirements of the human rights framework.
