An Annotated Guide to the Queensland Human Rights Act (Lawbook Co, 2022)
Annotated Queensland Human Rights Act provides valuable, practitioner-focused guidance to identifying when and how the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) applies.
International human rights have long been protected in the two leading United Nations Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as various other international declarations and covenants.
Queensland has joined a growing number of Australian states and territories enacting international human rights through statutory charters of rights. Queensland’s Human Rights Act 2019 is the most recent statutory charter, following the ACT in 2004 and Victoria in 2006. It is premised on the “dialogue model” of rights protection. Under this model Parliament, the executive and the judiciary each have a role in the protection of individual human rights, which must be reconciled with the competing rights of others and the interests of the community, while with Parliament retains power to legislate incompatibly with human rights.
The Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) protects twenty-three fundamental human rights, including two from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, with Queensland being the first Australian jurisdiction to protect one of these – the right to health services.
In this new work, commentary on each section of the Act is offered. It highlights cases in other jurisdictions that impact on the consideration of the Act and identifies the important differences between the Queensland legislation and ACT and Victorian equivalents.
Annotated Queensland Human Rights Act presents a nuanced analysis of the Act, applying both academic rigour and advocacy experience to create an essential point of reference for all Queensland lawyers, public officers and legal decision makers. It is also provides important guidance for people who wish to challenge decisions or actions that have interfered with their human rights.
Annotated Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities (Lawbook Co, 2019)
The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Victoria) is the means by which the civil and political rights of all people in Victoria are brought to bear on the interpretation of Victorian legislation and the policies and practices of the state government and public authorities. When the well-received first edition of this text was published in 2008, the obligations imposed by the Charter had just commenced. Now, barristers Alistair Pound and Kylie Evans again annotate the Charter, this time drawing on over a decade of operation, found in reported decisions in all courts and tribunals in Victoria, as well as in the High Court and Federal Court. As the authors say in their Preface, these cases “demonstrate that the Charter is, gradually, establishing its place in Victorian law and stimulating the development of a distinctly Victorian human rights jurisprudence”. Annotated Victorian Charter of Rights 2e is a valuable practitioner-focused reference for lawyers needing to identify when and how to apply this significant instrument.
An Annotated Guide to the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities (Lawbook Co, 2008)
Every Victorian lawyer is affected by the 1 January 2008 commencement of obligations under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Victoria). The Charter immediately affects those making new laws and policies, imposing on them requirements of scrutiny and assessment. It also imposes obligations on a wide range of service providers, including government and the public service, to act consistently with the human rights protected under the Charter. All Victorian legislation must now be interpreted compatibly with human rights and the Victorian Supreme Court can require the government to reconsider legislation that does not meet the Charter’s standards. Moreover, while there is no independent right to legal action for breach of the Charter, human rights arguments may be raised in courts and tribunals. And while it is of significant interest from a criminal and administrative law perspective, the Charter’s relevance to other practice areas, such as commercial law, should not be overlooked. Recognising the wide-ranging impact of this legislation, ‘An Annotated Guide to the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities’ offers timely guidance on how the Charter might operate. Commentary on the provisions of the Charter is set out in an annotated format and an introduction to each of the substantive rights is provided. The operative provisions of the Charter, including interpretative and remedial provisions, as well as those relating to the limitation of rights, are examined in detail, drawing on case law on similar legislation in other jurisdictions. Professor George Williams, Chair of the Consultation Committee responsible for its development, has contributed an introductory chapter that details the process of the Charter’s formulation and its intent. The helpful analysis provided by Pound and Evans will assist all those negotiating the changes wrought by this new legislation.
