Discovering Balance
Abstracts - Criminal justice & human rights stream
Session 3 Breakout 3, 1.30-3.30pm, ECL2 - Chair: Astrid Birgden.
Question time is included at the end of the breakout session
External scrutiny: can it facilitate the application of human rights in custodial settings?
Dr Bronwyn Naylor (Monash University) and Dr Inez Dussuyer (Principal Investigation Officer, Ombudsman Victoria)
How people are treated in custody reflects a society's commitment to the universality of human rights. Custodial settings epitomise the challenges of balancing security and community safety with respect for individual rights. Human rights principles are now being embodied in comprehensive domestic obligations in Australia, such as the ACT Human Rights Act, and the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, and will have significant implications for those providing custodial services. The authors are members of a multidisciplinary team which has obtained an ARC Linkage grant to work with external scrutiny bodies, and custodial agencies, to develop practical strategies for addressing human rights obligations in these challenging settings. This paper identifies sources of human rights as they may be applied to custodial settings and discusses an innovative framework for facilitating their practical application.
Session 3, Breakout 3
Date & Time: Thursday 2 October (1.30pm)
Location: ECL2
Uganda's Amnesty Act: A transitional Justice Tool as a Prelude to Restoration or an Obstruction of Justice?
Ms Angelique Harsant (University of the Free State)
The practice of national amnesty laws in states with a recent conflict history is not a new one. There have been many examples during the course of history, particularly in the developing world. Most cases of national amnesty laws seem to have occurred in South America and Africa. More recently, amnesties have been brought under the spotlight with the greater consciousness surrounding international law and particularly human rights. The majority of national amnesty laws pre-date the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the temporary tribunals of the United Nations (UN). In-order to effectively assess the place of amnesty laws within the current international law regime, one has to examine, first the history of national amnesty laws and their purposes from certain historical examples. This will show the developments that lead to the granting of amnesties and more importantly which parties initiated the drafting of the amnesty acts. Secondly national amnesty laws have to be examined in the context of international law and how they are interpreted within this context, and how they are currently interpreted by the ICC statute. Finally, the future of national amnesties as a transitional justice tool will be examined using the Ugandan Amnesty Act of 2000, and the potential of this Amnesty Act to usurp the ICC warrants in an attempt to bring lasting peace to this African country as a case study. Through the discussion outlined above, I hope to stimulate greater debate around the topic and particularly the Ugandan case.
Session 3, Breakout 3
Date & Time: Thursday 2 October (1.50pm)
Location: ECL2
Judicial Decision-making: human rights, equality and vulnerable offenders
Dr. Ann-Claire Larsen (Edith Cowan University)
This paper considers whether neutrality in judicial decision making is threatened in Australia and whether that matters. The paper focuses on the nexus between the position of vulnerable offenders before the court and a fundamental human rights principle - equality before the law - enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and codified in the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT) and the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic). Justices Kirby and Ipps' comments on judicial decision making are considered in light of three judgments involving vulnerable offenders who have committed serious crimes. This paper examines whether contextualised judging, which refers to differences between individuals, social inequalities and discrimination suffered by members of minority groups, ought to be taken into account in judicial decision making, as has been the case in Canada earlier this century.
Session 3, Breakout 3
Date & Time: Thursday 2 October (2.10pm)
Location: ECL2
Extreme Transport: Custodial Transport, Geography & Human Rights
Mr Cliff Holdom (Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services)
The death in custody of Aboriginal elder Mr Ian Ward at Kalgoorlie on 27 January 2008 following a regional journey in a prisoner transport triggered an unprecedented level of public concern in relation to privatised prisoner transport arrangements in Western Australia. Yet such a death was foreseeable and therefore preventable, given recent publication of a comprehensive inspection report which detailed the parlous state of the custodial vehicle fleet, and the continual exposure of prisoners and escort staff alike to extreme levels of risk, especially in regional and remote areas. It is argued that the risks inherent in custodial transport operations are disproportionately bourn by indigenous prisoners and is thereby indicative of a justice system tainted by systemic racism.
Session 3, Breakout 3
Date & Time: Thursday 2 October (2.30pm)
Location: ECL2