Why a ‘statutory’ charter of rights?
The Commission believes that the best way to ensure greater protection of human rights in Australia is through a statutory charter of rights (a Human Rights Act). Such a law would be able to operate within our existing system of government without altering the existing balance between the Parliament and the courts. If a charter of rights is contained in an ordinary piece of legislation, Parliament can change it if necessary. Parliament can also decide that there might be some instances where the Human Rights Act should not apply. This is what is known as ‘parliamentary sovereignty’ – the power to make and change laws. Some people argue that because it is an ordinary piece of legislation, a Human Rights Act would not provide strong enough protection for human rights. They say that embedding rights in the constitution would provide stronger protections. However, others argue that placing rights in an ordinary piece of legislation is necessary to preserve parliamentary sovereignty, our ex
