Page 1478 - Week 06 - Thursday, 2 July 2020
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The charter itself also carefully constrains the coverage of independent bodies that exercise judicial functions, such as ACT courts and tribunals and the Sentence Administration Board, to ensure that their independence is protected. Although the charter requires justice agencies to uphold the charter, “justice agency” does not include judges or magistrates. “Justice agency” does include a court or tribunal but only when the court or tribunal is acting in an administrative capacity. A court or tribunal is considered to be acting in an administrative capacity other than when it is exercising its jurisdiction in relation to any proceeding before it.
Moreover, the charter includes a statement that it does not intend to create any legal right that could give rise to civil action; affect the interpretation or operation of other territory laws; or affect the validity, or provide grounds for review, of any judicial or administrative act or omission.
In preparation for commencement, new education materials will be developed to increase understanding of victim rights amongst the community, including organisations that provide support to victims of crime; and provide additional information about justice processes to assist victims to navigate the system.
The implementation of the charter will also be supported by the relocation of three victims registers to Victim Support ACT. These registers provide relevant information to victims about the sentences of offenders, where appropriate, to assist victims to make informed decisions about their safety and provide opportunities to participate in justice processes—for example, in parole hearings. The adult and youth justice victims register, and the affected persons register for victims of offences committed by forensic patients, will relocate from their respective justice agencies to Victim Support ACT. This will improve information flow and provide wraparound support and advocacy for victims when engaging with the justice system.
The charter is crafted to ensure it is reasonable and practical for justice agencies to uphold. For example, a justice agency need not contact a victim on a particular matter if the victim has already been contacted or if the contact is not practicable in the circumstances. Similarly, some victim rights only automatically apply to victims who are concerned about their safety or to victims of indictable offences, to recognise that these groups of victims may need enhanced access to support.
The charter will be reviewed three years after its commencement. This will provide an opportunity to further strengthen the ACT’s victims rights framework in line with cultural and systemic reforms and continually developing community expectations in relation to victim engagement.
These victim rights and the associated accountability framework have been carefully developed, having regard to existing legislative frameworks, practical implementation issues, respect for rights of the accused and offenders, and the preservation of judicial and prosecutorial independence. This would not have been possible without the ongoing engagement and commitment of ACT justice agencies to developing the bill. The charter recognises and builds on their existing support to victims of crime. I would like to thank ACT Policing, Victim Support ACT, the ACT Office of the
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