human rights unit 2 aos 3

define human rights

Entitlements and liberties that exist for all human beings regardless of personal qualities or characteristics.

- established by UN with the UDHR

- needed to maintain a cohesive society

- civil and political rights = right to vote, freedom of speech

- Economic, social and cultural rights = right to work, right to education, freedom from discrimination

explain the significance of the UDHR

- established 1948 after WWII

- document created by UN sets out entitlements that should be given to all people

- isn't a treaty, does not have binding force on country's laws.

what are the articles in the UDHR

article 5: no one should be faced with cruel or inhumane torture or punishment

article 7: no one should be discriminated against and be equal under the law

article 18: everyone has the right to freedom of religion, conscience and religion

article 23: everyone has the right to equal pay to equal work

define a referendum

The method used to change the constitution, a public vote of all Australian people to change or alter the constitution

define and explain the Australian Constitution

The founding document of Australia that sets out the composition of the Australian parliament, its functions and layouts

- how Australia operates

- states 5 express rights

- only changed through the referendum

explain express rights

the five human rights that are explicitly stated in the Australian Constitution

5 EXPRESS RIGHTS:

1. right to acquire property on 'just terms'

2. Right to trial by jury for an indictable commonwealth offence

3. Right to free interstate trade and inports

4. Right to freedom of religion

5. right to be free from discrimination based on what state you reside in.

identify the strengths and weaknesses of express rights

PROS:

- the parliament can only create laws that align with the express rights, thus will not violate the Australian constitution

- cannot be changed without a referendum

- rights are unchanged since federation, thus relevant

CONS:

- referendums are time consuming and usually unsuccessful, thus may not change anything.

- only 5 express rights, which can be limited

- limited in their own scope e.g. cannot have right to trial by jury for summary offences

explain implied rights

A right that is not explicitly stated by the Australian constitution but is implied to exist from the High Court's interpretation.

- right to political communication

- High court can imply them to exist

- decides on the meaning of words in a phrase from the constitution and implies meaning to them.

RIGHTS:

right to political communication

identify the strengths and weaknesses of implied rights

STRENGTHS

- are fully enforceable by the High Court, so more rights can be applied

- ability to find implied rights, do not need to do a whole referendum process

WEAKNESSES

- can only create implied rights if a case is brought upon them

- not explicitly stated in the constitution

how is human rights protected by Australia through the structural protection of rights

representative government

- all members of parliament represent the people and are chosen through a democratic vote from the people

separation of powers

- separated in three branches so no abuse of power

- judiciary, executive, legislation

- judiciary = make judgements on law

- executive = enforce and apply law

- legislation = make or change laws

strengths and weaknesses of the structural protection of rights

STRENGTHS

- separation of powers means one party cannot abuse power

- rep government is chosen by people --> reflect society's values

- rep Govs = regular elections

WEAKNESSES

- members of executive can be members of legislature

- rep gov cannot uphold marginalised unpopular minorities

define and explain the victorian charter of human rights

a piece of victorian legislation that aims to protect human rights in Victoria.

- reviews bills and sees if its aligns with the rights in charter

- right to freedom of movement

- right to freedom of thought, religion and belief

list and explain strengths and weaknesses of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights

STRENGTHS

- publicly debated everything is transparent

- all legislations proposed needs to pass the Statement of Compatibility, makes sure it aligns with the VCHRR

- Extensive protection of 20 rights included in VCHRR

WEAKNESSES

- considering the VCHRR was made 2006, any legislations before 2006 may not align with it

- Victorians are not granted the right to sue Parliament for breaching the Charter's rights.

explain and define statute laws

Laws that are created by Commonwealth and the Victorian parliament.

- Racial Discrimination Act

- Equal Opportunity Act 2010

identify strengths and weaknesses of statute laws

STRENGTHS:

- remedies and compensation for rights that are breached

- can adapt to societal changes

- political risks for altering right protections

WEAKNESSES:

- challenges in seeking justice in court.

- lack of protection for marginalised communities.

define and explain common law

A law created by judges when resolving a dispute when there is not an applicable law

- how legislation should be interpreted to uphold human rights

- interpret statutes to clarify legislation

define precedents

a legal principles established by a court in a previous case that is used to guide subsequent cases with similar factors.

explain the nature of rights of young people

Rights that build upon the baseline of human rights to protect those u18.

what is the name of the charter that protects human rights for children

2006 Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act (VIC)

1989 - UN convention of the Rights of the Child was established

define the term residual powers

Law-making powers that are granted to the state parliaments instead of the Commonwealth Parliament in the Australian Constitution

identify and explain current issues of conflicting attitudes towards the rights of the child and the arguments for and against

ISSUE 1: Age of criminal responsibility being 10 for Commonwealth offences

for:

- victims of crime should feel justice that a offender is punished

against:

- increases recidivism rates and a negative mental impact on health

- First Nations youth is especially affected by lower ages of criminal responsibility

ISSUE 2: The age at which Australian citizens are required to vote is 18

for:

- people under 18 do not have the political understanding to make a responsible choice

against:

- 16-17 yr olds are politically engaged and impacted by political decisions e.g. tax for children that work

- 16-17 who work and pay tax need to be represented in democracy

ISSUE 3: compulsory for all citizens to vote at 18

FOR:

- ensures large amount of voting

- parliament reflects views of everyone

AGAINST:

- May cast a random vote

- should have option instead of force

- may vote for ppl that dont rep them

explain the raise the age campaign

A campaign that advocates for the criminal age of responsibility to be raised to 14, not 10 in Australia

- began 2017 when torture was captured of youth detention centre

- to meet the global median

- to reduce recidivism rates

- reconciliation of First Nations

- prevent cognitive harm

define suffrage

The right to vote in public and political elections

when were First Nations people given the right to vote

1984 - Equal people voting rights for First Nations people was compulsory for them

1962 - First Nations people's voting rights were optional

explain how Australia protects the right to vote

- implied right even though not stated in the constitution

- protected under statute and common law

identify who CANT vote that are over the age of 18

- of unsound mind

- convicted of treason

- 3> years of sentence

explain how the common law protects rights to vote

- banned the law stating that prisoners cant vote

- legislation to reduce the number of days to enrol = invalid

explain possible reforms FOR and AGAINST and which groups supported them

LOWER VOTING AGE:

- Water to lower the age to 16-17, unsuccessful

groups:

- Human Rights law centre

- Make it 16

ELECTRONIC VOTING:

- tech devices and systems for ballet

groups:

- Australia Post

- Blind Voting Australia

identify the parties for the Roach V Electoral Commissioner

Vickie Roach, the plaintiff that challenged the gov's legislation of banning voting for prisoners

explain the facts of the Roach V electoral commissioner case

plaintiff Roach challenged electoral commissioner responsible for administering federal elections, regarding the voting ban of prisoners.

explain and identify the arguments made in the case:

ROACH:

- a breach of the constitution section 7 and 24, that states the representatives to be directly chosen by the people

- stated that the law undermined the principle of a representative gov by not allowing prisoners with minor offences and shorter sentences to vote or participate in electoral processes

Explain the impact of this case

- The high court ruled in favour for Roach, and stated the ban on voting as unconstitutional

- long term imprisonment meant that prisoners could not vote

- protected First Nations peoples rights, considering that 27% of national prisoner population are First Nations people with a sentence average of 2 years.

define the queens counsel

senior barristers whose skills have been formally recognised by the Supreme Court and legal profession after a number of years of work

identify and explain the people and groups that influenced the right to vote

VICKIE ROACH

- Initiated the case in High Court

- believed ban would impact First Nations peoples

Human Rights Law Resource Centre:

- gave roach queens counsel that was free of charge to let her take the case to court

COMMONWEALTH GOV

- maintained civic responsibility

JUSTICE HAYNE AND HAYDON

- against it, and wanted to keep the ban

explain when the right to vote for prisoners came about

2004 = those serving 3> couldn't vote

2006 = Commonwealth Electoral Act banned prisoners from voting in elections

2007 = Roach challenged the constitutional validity of the elections

provide examples of human rights

- the right to life

- the right to food and shelter

- right to vote

- right to freedom of speech

list what ways the human rights are protected

- the Australian constitution

- victorian Charter of human rights

- universal declaration of Human rights

- statute law

- common law

identify and explain an issue of statute law

parliament can abrogate or change an existing right thats protected under the statute law

define ratification

the action of signing or giving formal consent to a treaty, contract, or agreement, making it officially valid.

differentiate between an international treaty and an international declaration

a treaty is a formal document signed by a country with the intention of following laws set out in the document, whereas a declaration is a non binding agreement between countries, setting out aspirations that are agreed upon.

define charter

a written document outlining — or mapping — the rights and obligations of an entire colony.

define locus standi

the right or capacity to bring an action or to appear in a court.

define ultra vires

acting or done beyond one's legal power or authority.

list the rights protected in Australia by common law

- legal rep

- limited freedom of speech

- fair trial

explain how rights are protected in common law

- precedents = make laws

- ultra vires = pal can be invalid

- codification = confirmed by pal

- abrogation = can cancel