Do other countries with similar systems of law and government have human rights acts?
Yes. Australia is the only democracy in the world without a human rights act or similar. Canada, the United States and South Africa all have a bill of rights in their constitutions. The United Kingdom and New Zealand have legislative human rights acts. (See question 5 above for the difference between constitutional and legislative bills of rights). These countries, with similar political structures and histories, have all recognised the need to protect important rights from the exercise of arbitrary government power. This now places the Australian legal system in a state of judicial isolation when deciding matters involving human rights. International jurisprudence, which has helped shape our common law for centuries, can no longer be relied on as all the other commonwealth countries now decide these matters within the framework of a human rights act or a bill of rights. This puts in jeopardy one of the major checks and balances in our system.
