Unit 2 Aos 3

Question 1

What is statute law?

Answer 1

Laws passed by parl. (fed or state)

There are many that protect our rights

Question 2

Identify two statutes that protect freedom from discrimination, privacy and security of person

Answer 2

Discrim- age discrimination act, sex discrimination act
Privacy- privacy act, freedom of information act
Security of person- crimes act, sentencing act

Question 3

What is the vic charter of human rights and responsibilities

Answer 3

2006 act of vic parliament.
Sets out basic rights, freedoms and responsibilities.
Gov bodies and departments required to act in a way that upholds these
Requires vic parliament to state whether a new law they pass impacts any rights in the charter.
It’s still an act of parl so it can be abolished but reasons must be public

Question 4

What’s in the vic human rights charter

Answer 4

Basic rights, freedoms and responsibilities. Some rights include life, protection from torture and cruel inhumane treatment, freedom of movement, right to silence

Question 5

What does the complaints process involve

Answer 5

Applicant lodges a complaint
Applicant and respondent go through counciliation and try to reach agreement
Outcomes could include an apology, compensation, job reinstatement or reference, access to previously denied job opps, agreement to undertake hr training

Question 6

Why is counciliation used

Answer 6

Provides an impartial fast flexible and free dispute resolution.
Identifies develops options considers alternatives and tries to reach an agreement
Complaints can be made in any language and a free interpreter for support

Question 7

What are some strengths and weaknesses of statutes

Answer 7

Strengths- bc parliament creates them they can be up to date and reflect society’s values.
Parliament can relatively easily pass a law to protect a right if no law exists around it
Weaknesses- parl could just as easily pass a law that takes away the rights that were protected by earlier statutes, so there’s no permanent guarantee

Question 8

What is an example case dealt with by the vic equal opp and human rights commission

Answer 8

Sexual harassment in employment, fashion designer assaulted, quit bc boss made her feel uncomfortable, went to VEOHRC to make a complaint, counciliation, she got an apology and compensation as well as promised training for workplace.

Question 9

What is international law

Answer 9

Agreements made between countries. Agreements can be called treaties, conventions, covenants etc

Question 10

What is a signatory

Answer 10

A country when they choose to sign an agreement -international. It shows commitment and support of the contents of the agreement.

Question 11

Example of international law in Australia

Answer 11

They signed the convention of “elimination of all forms of racial discrimination”

Question 12

What is common Law

Answer 12

Decisions made by judges in courts

• guides future courts, precedents
• some of the rights decided are now in acts
• even if the right is made into an act the court still has to interpret it

Question 13

Describe the Dietrich case

Answer 13

Arrested because he smuggled heroine into Australia
He lodged an appeal against his conviction because his RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL was breached because he had no lega rep bc he didn’t plead guilty
High Court established a common law right that any indiv charged with a serious offence has a right to legal rep. Also there can be a delay until a party gets legal rep

Question 14

What is an example case of discrimination

Answer 14

Kevin and Jennifer- commonwealth challenged their marriage because Kevin wasn’t a man for marriage purposes because he used to be a woman.
Court established the right of post-op transgendered to marry

Question 15

How else can courts protect rights

Answer 15

TheULTRA VIRES rule- “beyond the powers”
Parliament don’t have unlimited power, their power comes from the constitution
If a parliament passes a law that is beyond their powers it’s said to be ULTRA VIRES
So if a law is made that infringes on someone’s rights a court may be able to intervene if that law was made ultra vires

Question 16

What are strengths and weaknesses of common law

Answer 16

Strengths- courts independent, able to make decisions and establish rights where parliament hasn’t, infer rights how they want
Weaknesses- not always easy to define, parliament can abrogate them, judges are reluctant to certain rights like privacy

Question 17

The status of the constitution

Answer 17

Highest status than any other law, no one can make a law that isn’t compatible with the constitution, the rights included are the strongest rights

Question 18

What rights are in the constitution

Answer 18

Doesn’t have a certain list but it includes three ways to protect the rights

• five express rights
• implied rights
• rights that come from the structure of the constitution

Question 19

Five express rights

Answer 19

Right to receive just terms when property is compulsoryily acquired
Right to free interstate trade
Not discriminated against state of residence
Freedom of religion
Trial by jury

Question 20

Freedom of religion

Answer 20

Presents parliament from passing a law that establishes a national religion, imposes religion, prohibits the exercise of religion, requires a religious test as a requirement for the gov

Question 21

What are implied rights

Answer 21

Determined by the high court when hearing a case, basically a statutory interpretation for the constitution

Question 22

Describe the implied right to freedom of political communication

Answer 22

REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT requires the parliament to make laws to reflect societies views, therefore ppl have to talk about political views, Aus capital television case ruled that Australians should be able to advertise and discuss their views and opinions in public form

Question 23

Rights arising from the structure of the constitution

Answer 23

Relates to the separation of powers

Question 24

Australia compared to USA

Answer 24

Australia mainly protects rights through Commonwealth and state legislation and common-law. We are the only western democracy in the world that doesn’t have either a constitutional or statutory charter to list and protect the basic rights or people

Question 25

What is the difference between a constitutional charter and a statutory charter

Answer 25

Constitutional- A nations constitution includes a list of basic rights, because they are in the Constitution they can only be removed by changing the Constitution which doesn't happen. Statutory- A nation protects a list of rights through the passing of an act of parliament, The act is not part of the Constitution but a separate statute that can be changed by the parliament passed the act at any time.

Question 26

Compare America and Australia

Answer 26

America has put most of their rights in their constitutional bill of rights whereas Australia has them everywhere for example in common-law the Constitution parliament and statutes America and Australia have the same separation of powers

Question 27

What are the separation of powers

Answer 27

Legislative Executive Judiciary Power to make laws. Administer law. Apply the law. Congress/parliament. President/minister. Supreme Court/ high.

Question 28

Explain the American government

Answer 28

Based on a federal system, 50 states each have state legislation and make laws in things like industries, properties Has one central or federal legislature, referred to as CONGRESS who make laws that benefit the whole country. Highest court is supreme

Question 29

Major similarities and differences in Aus and USA

Answer 29

Both protect rights in similar ways. They protect rights through passing acts of parliament by the state and fed legislation and through court decisions Main difference is USA constitution contains a bill of rights which protects a broad range of rights listed, whereas Aus doesn't, ours is done through passing acts of parliament

Question 30

How does the USA protect rights

Answer 30

Bill of rights- constitution Structure of constitution- separation of powers, differs in us constitution protects the right to vote Implied rights- parl/congress can't override decisions if a court rules that legislation breaches constitution International treaties- Aus and USA are a signatory of human rights international documents. Australia ratifies these more often. Eg CRC convention for rights of a child

Question 31

What are three possible reforms to the protection of rights

Answer 31

Reforms are put in when there's concern that particular groups or individuals aren't having their rights protected. It's important to review how our rights are protected and implement reforms. 1) introducing national charter- clearly stated rights, strengthen the protection of them, improve Australia's image. 2) amend legislation to improve protection to minorities- eg groups of asylum seekers, disabled ppl, LGBT com., so Aus don't neglect these groups 3) increase availability of legal aid and assistance- offer more for those who may not be able to afford it, gov funding to organisations

Question 32

What is a right

Answer 32

A moral or legal entitlement to have or do something

Question 33

What are the five fundamental freedoms of Australia

Answer 33

``` Movement Association Assembly Religion Speech ```

Question 34

What are three ways our rights are protected?

Answer 34

Common law- precedents give a fair trial and enforce right to silence Statute law, pass laws and uphold treaties Constitution, protects written rights ALSO HUMAN RIGHTS CHARTER

Question 35

What is the difference between signing and ratifying a treaty

Answer 35

Singing demonstrates intent to adopt the treaty and incorporate it into our law, however ratifying means the nation is legally bound to accept and implement rights.

Question 36

What is an international treaty and declaration

Answer 36

Treaty is an agreement between countries to be bound by int law. Declaration is A document that outlines a set of standards that nations voluntarily agreed to but I'm not bound to

Question 37

What is an optional protocol

Answer 37

Something that is created after the formation of a major treaty to address additional matters or specify to help achieve the aims of the main one

Question 38

What is the Australian human rights commission

Answer 38

There role is to investigate alleged infringements of Australia's anti discrimination legislation in relation to commonwealth agencies, eg of areas: gender, age, marital status,race. They use a method of counciliation