Rule of Law – Summary Notes

What is the Rule of Law?

  • All people are ruled by the law and must obey it (Equality before the Law). The law should rule, not any single citizen. Quote: Aristotle: “It is better for the law to rule than one of its citizens.”

Foundations and Foundations in Australia

  • Magna Carta (referenced in Week 2) – foundational milestone for RoL.
  • A. V. Dicey – Rule of Law displayed in 3 main ways:
    • No man is punishable, or can be lawfully made to suffer, except for a distinct breach of law established in the ordinary legal manner before ordinary courts.\text{No man is punishable, or can be lawfully made to suffer, except for a distinct breach of law established in the ordinary legal manner before ordinary courts.}
    • No man is above the law.\text{No man is above the law.}
    • General principles of the constitution are formed by judicial decisions determining private rights in cases before the courts.\text{General principles of the constitution are formed by judicial decisions determining private rights in cases before the courts.}
  • Lord Bingham’s 8 principles of RoL:
    • Law must be accessible, intelligible, clear, and predictable;\text{Law must be accessible, intelligible, clear, and predictable;}
    • Rights and liabilities resolved by law, not discretion;\text{Rights and liabilities resolved by law, not discretion;}
    • Laws apply equally to all, with justified differentiation;\text{Laws apply equally to all, with justified differentiation;}
    • Fundamental human rights protected;\text{Fundamental human rights protected;}
    • Civil disputes resolved without prohibitive cost or delay;\text{Civil disputes resolved without prohibitive cost or delay;}
    • Public powers exercised reasonably, in good faith, within limits;\text{Public powers exercised reasonably, in good faith, within limits;}
    • State adjudicative procedures fair;\text{State adjudicative procedures fair;}
    • State complies with international law.\text{State complies with international law.}
  • UN perspective (Kofi Annan, 2004): Rule of Law as governance where all are accountable to publicly promulgated laws, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, consistent with international human rights norms.
  • Justice Kirby – IBA’s 12 implicit RoL ideas (independent judiciary, presumption of innocence, fair trials, proportional punishment, strong legal profession, client-lawyer secrecy, equality before the law, absence of arbitrary arrests, no secret trials, no indefiniteness, anti-corruption, open governance and information).
  • Martin Krygier: RoL purposes to temper or moderate power to avoid arbitrary use.

Rule of Law and Government Authority

  • Example: s353-15 Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth)\text{s353-15 Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth)} demonstrates application of RoL in government authority.

Rights protection and Access to Justice

  • Sources of rights protections:
    • Constitution;
    • Legislation (e.g., Human Rights Act (Qld));
    • International Conventions.
  • Constitutional Rights (Commonwealth): explicit rights include
    • S51(xxxi)S51(xxxi) Protection against acquisition of property on unjust terms
    • S80S80 Trial by jury
    • S92S92 Freedom of Interstate Trade and Commerce
    • S116S116 Freedom of Religion
    • S117S117 Protection against discrimination based on State
    • Implicit rights: Right to vote (org. s41s41, now ss7ss 7 and 2424)
    • Right to political communication
  • Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld): core commitments
    • Inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights; rights exercised with respect for others; limits only when justified in a free and democratic society; special importance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (including right to self-determination).
    • See: https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/act-2019-005
  • Look at rights enumerated in the Act (Key rights):
    • 15 Recognition and equality before the law
    • 16 Right to life
    • 17 Protection from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
    • 18 Freedom from forced work
    • 19 Freedom of movement
    • 20 Freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief
    • 21 Freedom of expression
    • 22 Peaceful assembly and freedom of association
    • 23 Taking part in public life
    • 24 Property rights
    • 25 Privacy and reputation
    • 26 Protection of children
    • 27 Cultural rights generally
    • 28 Cultural rights – ATSI
    • 29–35 Criminal proceedings rights (e.g., fair hearing, innocent until proven guilty)
    • 36 Right to education
    • 37 Right to health
  • Rights protections mechanism in Queensland: S42–S47 allow compatibility considerations and overrides
    • S42 No effect on application of laws
    • S43 Parliament override declarations; S44 statement justifying override
    • S47 No effect on validity of laws when override is not followed
  • Equality before the law / non-discrimination
    • Quote: “Discrimination can arise from treating equals as equals or treating differently those who are not materially different.” (Justice McHugh, Waters v Public Transport Corporation)
  • Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld)
    • Prohibits discrimination on attributes including sex, race, age, impairment, religious belief, political belief/activity, trade union activity, gender identity, sexuality, and ATSI-related grounds, among others.
  • Practical approach to equality before the law
    • Avoid stereotypes; understand diversity; ensure fairness and avoid unjust outcomes; cannot treat everyone identically if it would produce unfair results.
  • International Conventions – ICCPR (article 14)
    • Right to a fair trial; presumption of innocence; rights to silent, informed charges; right to defence; independent tribunal; right to appeal.

Judicial Review and Access to Justice

  • What is Judicial Review?
    • Judicial review sets boundaries on government powers.
    • Acts: JudicialReviewAct1991(Qld)Judicial Review Act 1991 (Qld); AdministrativeDecisions(JudicialReview)Act1977(Cth)Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth); provide rights to:
    • request reasons for adverse decisions;
    • seek review of decisions in the Supreme Court;
    • applies to administrative decisions of government departments, local authorities, quasi-government agencies, and statutory authorities.
  • Rule of Law and Judicial Review: example s353−15{s353-15}.
  • Access to Justice
    • Everyone should have access to justice; access to legal services and courts; address structural inequalities; importance of informal justice.
    • Right to legal aid; notable cases:
    • DietrichvTheQueen(1992)177CLR292;[1992]HCA57Dietrich v The Queen (1992) 177 CLR 292; [1992] HCA 57
    • Self-represented litigants: HovGreaterDandenongCityCouncil[2013]VSCA168Ho v Greater Dandenong City Council [2013] VSCA 168
  • Shifting conceptions of access to justice: legal aid, representation, and court access.

Just outcomes

  • Key aims: consistency, parity, impartiality, independence, openness, and fair treatment.
  • Consistency: similar cases should be treated similarly; administered as a system rather than isolated cases (Wong v R (2001) 207 CLR 584; [2001] HCA 64).
  • Parity: consistency between co-offenders.
  • Impartiality: independence of judiciary (Isbester v Knox City Council (2015) 255 CLR 135; [2015] HCA 20).
  • Judicial independence and sentencing
    • Mandatory sentencing undermines RoL by removing judicial independence and eligibility for proportionality and rehabilitation considerations.
    • Objections: separation of powers (legislature vs judiciary); shifts discretion to police/prosecution (executive); prevents applying sentencing principles; reduces rehabilitation considerations; examples include one-punch crime laws and some minimums for people smuggling.
  • What constitutes a just outcome?
    • Law must be knowable and applied predictably and fairly.

Law must be knowable

  • Legislation should be publicly available:
    • Legislation.qld.gov(Qldlegislation)Legislation.qld.gov (Qld legislation); Legislation.gov.au(Cthlegislation)Legislation.gov.au (Cth legislation); library access.
  • Ignorance of the law is no excuse: s22s22 of the Criminal Code (example).
  • Retrospectivity and certainty
    • Rule: general principle against retrospectivity; retrospective laws are usually unjust unless clearly unambiguous; no Constitutional restriction against Parliament passing retrospective laws; see Queensland context: HRA s35.
  • Retrospectivity in RoL context
    • See: Queen v Raymond John Carroll [2002] HCA 55; Director of Public Prosecutions v TAL [2019] QCA 279.
  • Rule of Law and Retrospectivity – key takeaway: laws should be knowable, transparent, and certain; retrospective changes are exceptional and justified only when unambiguous.

In brief: Upholding the Rule of Law

  • The RoL is demonstrated by:
    • Separation of powers
    • Open and transparent laws
    • Open and free criticism of the law and its administration
    • Equal and fair application of the law; no one above the law
    • Laws that are knowable and accessible to everyone
    • Government actions only per the law (no torture, etc.)
    • An independent, impartial, open, transparent judiciary providing fair and speedy trials
    • Presumption of innocence and right to silence; no prosecution for acts not known to be law when committed

Additional references

  • UN and IBA sources cited in lectures summarized above; for full text see lecture slides
  • Queensland and Commonwealth cases and Acts cited in respective slides