Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 02 Hansard (Tuesday, 2 March 2004) . . Page.. 552 ..

• Consideration of a planning and development phase to enable agencies to engage in reform in anticipation of legislated standards,

• A promotional approach to ‘rights’ rather than a strict compliance approach,

• Acknowledgement of victim notification and inclusion within an updated encoding of fair trial proceedings, and

• Recognition of citizen’s rights to safety and security.

The coordinator went on to say:

The Report of the ACT Bill of Rights Consultative Committee…is groundbreaking for the Territory.

That is an understatement—

The omission of the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power (1985) as part of the raft of binding international documents is, however, puzzling. A consequence of this omission is that the Report fails to address some substantive questions as to the content of a proposed Human Rights Act.

The principles contained within the UN Declaration of Basic Principles have been incorporated into legislative effect in most Western democracies, and in the majority of Australian jurisdictions. Its tenets have been given constitutional effect in the United States. Aspects of victim/witness support, participation and protection have been included in various of the war crimes tribunals and, most recently, in the Rome Statute for the creation of an International Criminal Court. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that aspects of a victim of crime’s rights are not incompatible with the right to a fair trial for an accused person. The principles contained within the 1985 Declaration are, through these developments, accepted as part of customary international law. In the report of the ACT Consultative Committee, however, not a mention of them is made.

The omission from consideration of issues and rights for victims of crime has a number of disturbing consequences. The absence of discussion in relation to, for example, the right to safety and security vis a vis the right to privacy may throw into question current proactive interventions by state agencies into the family to protect adults and children.

It is hoped that the community will be afforded further opportunities to debate and consider these questions and substantive content to a Human Rights Act.

It is worth repeating that final paragraph there:

The omission from consideration of issues and rights for victims of crime has a number of disturbing consequences. The absence of discussion in relation to, for example, the right to safety and security vis a vis the right to privacy may throw into question current proactive interventions by state agencies into the family to protect adults and children.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .