UDHR & UN
A document created by an international body that outlines 30 human rights agreed upon to be universal.
What is UDHR?
The right to freedom of religion is...
an express right given by the constitution.
Rights laid out clearly in the constitution to be given to all Australian citizens.
What are Express Rights?
What are the two types of law that can protect human rights?
Statute & Common Law
(laws made by parliament & laws made by court decisions)
What does VCHRR stand for (precise answer required)
Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities
An international collection of representatives from countries that meet to discuss human rights issues, security concerns and more.
What is the United Nations?
The constitution has 5 of these.
When the High Court determines that the constitution intends to have a human right in it, what type of right is created?
An implied Right.
How does common law protect human rights?
The processes that are part of common law can protect human rights by;
Statutory Interpretation - Finding human rights should be protected within existing laws.
Precedent - Decisions made on human rights that create consistent decisions going forward.
What must Victorian MPs created alongside bills to align with the requirements of the VCHRR?
What is a Statement of Compatibility?
Is the UDHR legally binding for Australia? Why?
No - Because it is not a law in Australia, it is instead an aspirational document that we should look to as a goal.
Define Implied Rights.
A right that has been interpreted by the High Court to be within the words & phrasing of the constitution (even if it was not explicitly stated).
The freedom (right) to political communication (freedom of political speech) is a?
Implied right
How does Statute Law protect Human Rights?
By creating law that explicitly protects human rights, creating a legal basis for anyone who breaks these laws to be punished through the law. Makes clear to society what is protected.
The VCHRR can be overridden, explain this process.
The VCHRR is a guideline for lawmakers to follow, it can be overlooked when making a law if the breach can be justified - the law will also be argued in parliament
Explain how and why the UDHR was developed by the newly created UN in 1948?
In the wake of WW2, the global leaders felt that there needed to be a document that outlined what human rights should be for all, as a guide for countries to follow.
The atrocities of WW2 helped spark this human rights focus globally.
Define Structural Protections
Are government processes & systems outlined the constitution that indirectly create protected human rights.
Give both examples of structural protections and briefly explain what they mean.
Separation of Powers - no one part of the government is allowed to hold all the power.
Representative Government - The Australian people must be allowed to elect representatives to Government.
Give a scenario where common law could protect human rights.
E.g. - the law is unclear on the rights of a person to sublet, the judges will need to interpret existing laws to determine what their rights are.
Explain the kinds of rights the VCHRR aims to protect?
The right of vote, the right to equality, right not to be tortured, freedom of expression.
Summarise the development of human rights, select two historical events to show the development.
Ex - Human rights develop one step at a time, for example prior to the abolishment of slavery by the British Parliament, there were humans who - legally - were viewed as property. Now, the modern human rights movement has had a focus on abolishing restrictive abortion laws, pushing further into bodily autonomy/freedom.
Identify & Explain one way that the constitution protects human rights in Australia.
Express Rights, Implied Rights, Structural Protections
(with explanation of how they protect human rights)
How do implied rights protect human rights in Australia?
They find human rights and legally protect them (by abolishing existing laws or barring any new laws)
Give one example of a statute law that protects human rights, outline the protections it affords.
Racial discrimination act 1975
Equal opportunity act 2010
Sex Discrimination act 1984
etc
Explain a limitation of the VCHRR to protect human rights
- It is not legally binding aka they can still infringe upon these rights
- The VCHRR only applies to new laws
- The VCHRR only applies to Victorian laws