the nature of individual rights and responsibilities
Rights
are entitlements or permissions that can be either legal or moral in nature
legal rights are enforceable by law through the courts – for the right to exist it must be contained in and protected by the law
moral rights derive from one’s own morals, values or ethics and are not enforceable by law
respect for the equal worth, dignity and freedom of the individual
freedom of speech (limited)
freedom of religion and secular government
freedom of association
support for parliamentary democracy and the rule of law
equality under the law
equality of men and women
equality of opportunity
Values in Australia
Responsibilities
are legal or moral obligations or duties that a person may have to another person
legal responsibilities are enforceable by law
where there is a right, there will often be a corresponding responsibility
Theories of Rights
Positivism - that law is given to us by a legal authority
Natural Law - that rights have been given to us by a higher authority (God) that is higher than any of law
Rights are either protected by common law, statute law or the constitution
Statute Law Common Law
Defined
protected by statute is the right not to be excluded or restricted on the basis of race, colour or
ethnic origin
rights are protected by common law, particularly in
contract law and tort law
Example Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)
Donoghue v Stevenson 1932
The Australian Constitution
The Australian Constitution protects certain specific individual rights:
s 80: the right to a trial by jury
s 116: freedom of religion
s 117: the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of one’s state of residence
s 51: the right to compensation if one’s property is compulsorily acquired for any purpose in respect of which the Commonwealth government has the power to make laws.
In the 1990s, the High Court begun interpreting the constitution to include implied rights rather than just expressed rights e.g. implied right of freedom to political communication
Consumer Rights
Environmental Rights
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Civil and Political Rights
Self Determination
Categories of Rights
Which of these are individual rights and which are collective rights?
Bill of Rights
A bill of rights is a formal document that officially enshrines the minimum human rights that every citizen is entitled to, and binds the government to comply with those rights.
Australia does not have a bill of rights, but most other developed countries do
Victoria and the ACT have adopted their own state charters of rights, but the Commonwealth has refused
Recent Commonwealth inquiry into a bill of rights found 87 per cent of the public would support its introduction (2011)
Treaties become binding on the citizens of an individual nation either automatically upon ratification, if the treaty is self-executing, or once the nation has passed domestic legislation(Australia)
Declarations are different to treaties because they simply state the parties intentions e.g UDHR 1948
Rights under International Law
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Limitations of international law protecting rights
Nation-states sign international law not individuals
Nation States may ignore or refuse to sign international law (due to State Sovereignty) which may impede on human rights with their country
Self Determination
The right to determine one’s own acts without external influence; the freedom of the people of a given territory to determine their own political status or independence from their current state
Example: East Timor - UN 1999