The Pros And Cons Of Bill Of Rights

Whether or not Australia should adopt a bill of rights that protects individual rights from infringement by the legislature or executive, has been a subject of debate over the past few decades, specifically as Australia remains the last Western democracy without a bill of rights (Galligan, 1990: 345). On the International level, Australia has ratified seven major human rights treaties, however these treaties cannot enforce their obligations on domestic law, as can be seen in the parliaments decline to enact legislation on ratified treaties such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Firth, 2011:308). On the national level, five explicit human rights exist in the constitution, along with the common law system and the Australian Human …show more content…
Major human rights scholars believe that Australia’s human rights framework needs to be fixed and argue against the Australian government’s decision for numerous reasons, of which this essay will outline four. It is important to note of the a split within advocates of a bill of rights between those in support of a constitutionally entrenched bill and those in support of a legislative bill; this essay will focus on the later. Firstly, supporters of a legislative bill of rights such as Hilary Charlesworth, argue that a legislative model will increase parliament authority in establishing a rights framework, while the judiciary will carry an important yet restricted role in setting disputes on human rights (Chappell, Chesterman & Hill, 2009: 74). Second, George William stresses the significance of a legislative bill of rights in supporting the community’s education on human rights, thus shaping attitudes on the matter and enhancing the publics knowledge on basic rights to which they are entitled to. Third, a bill of rights will assure the protection of minority rights in a political environment that seeks to satisfy majority interests (Chappell, Chesterman & Hill, 2009: 75). Finally, a …show more content…
Firstly, in contrast to its supporters, there is a concern that a bill of rights will undermine legislative powers while handing power to the least democratic branch of the constitution, the judiciary (Byrnes, Charlesworth & McKinnon, 2009:34). It is seen as a mistake to hand over such power to the courts, as human rights issues are moral and political, therefore they are best resolved through the elected arm of the government rather than by ill trained judges who are no equipped to make rational decisions in the area (Chappell, Chesterman & Hill, 2009:67). Second, there is the belief that human rights are well protected in Australia under the common law system; consequently introducing a bill of rights will replace the common law system that provides judges with the ability to make decisions on a case-by-case basis (O’neill, Rice & Douglas, 2004:106) with a single response that will quickly become