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Australian Capital Territory - Legislation

Human Rights Act 2004 (2004 - )

From
2004
Categories
Principal Act

The Human Rights Act 2004 is a law which recognises and describes the fundamental civil and political rights that individuals have. It gives the Attorney General and Human Rights Commissioner some powers to intervene in courts and tribunals where human rights are concerned, and gives the Supreme Court the power to declare Territory laws 'incompatible' with the Human Rights Act.

Details

The ACT Human Rights Act is a law which recognises and describes the fundamental civil and political rights that individuals have. It gives the Attorney General and Human Rights Commissioner some powers to intervene in courts and tribunals where human rights are concerned, and gives the Supreme Court the power to declare Territory laws 'incompatible' with the Human Rights Act.

Some of the human rights listed include freedom of speech and assembly, the right to a fair trial, and equality before the law.

It contains some privacy provisions, and states that:

Everyone has the right:
(a) not to have his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence interfered with unlawfully or arbitrarily; and
(b) not to have his or her reputation unlawfully attacked.

Publications

Online Resources

Sources used to compile this entry: 'Explanatory Statement, Human Rights Bill 2003', in ACT Legislation Register, ACT Government, 2003, http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/es/db_8294/20031120-9669/pdf/db_8294.pdf; Law Research Service, Melbourne Law School, Law Library, The University of Melbourne. 'Find and Connect Project - Northern Territory Legislation', 1 February 2013, held in the project files at the University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre.

Prepared by: Liam Hogan