Constitutional Design and Australian Exceptionalism in the Adoption of National Bills of Rights

2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 767-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Stone ◽  
Nicholas Barry
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
National Level ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
Constitutional Design ◽  
Dialogue Model ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Difference

AbstractWhy has Australia not followed Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom in adopting a formal bill of rights at the national level? We argue that the Australian Constitution has made the difference. The Constitution has underpinned a comparatively strong parliamentary check on the executive, weakening the rationale for a bill of rights and impeding legislative initiatives towards this end; thwarted the drive for a constitutional bill of rights; and helped delegitimize statutory approaches to a bill of rights in general and the “dialogue model” in particular. The article ultimately questions the notion that a common approach to rights protection can apply across Westminster democracies.

scholarly journals 'Can Mummy Come Too?' Rhetoric and Realities of 'Family-Centred Care' in One New Zealand Hospital, 1960-1990.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kim Therese Chenery
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Public Response ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Separation Thesis ◽  
Society Application ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
The Difference

<p>The development of ‘family-centred care’ began in the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s in response to ‘expert’ concern for the child as an ‘emotional’ being. John Bowlby’s maternal deprivation thesis suggested that constant maternal attention in the early years of life would ensure emotionally healthy future members of society. Application of this theory to the hospital children’s ward indicated that young children should not be without their mothers for long periods of time. This theory and the subsequent release of the Platt Report in the United Kingdom in 1959 provided the necessary ‘scientific’ justification allowing mothers greater access to the historically restrictive hospital children’s wards. Influenced by trends in the United Kingdom the tenets of the separation thesis were reflected in New Zealand government policy towards child care and the care of the hospitalised child. However, the wider societal context in which these changes were to be accepted in New Zealand hospital children’s wards has not been examined. This study explores the development of ‘family-centred care’ in New Zealand as part of an international movement advanced by ‘experts’ in the 1950s concerned with the psychological effects of mother-child separation. It positions the development of ‘family-centred care’ within the broader context of ideas and beliefs about mothering and children that emerged in New Zealand society between 1960 and 1980 as a response to these new concerns for children’s emotional health. It examines New Zealand nursing, medical and related literature between 1960 and 1990 and considers both professional and public response to these concerns. The experiences of some mothers and nurses caring for children in one New Zealand hospital between 1960 and 1990 illustrate the significance of these responses in the context of one hospital children’s ward and the subsequent implications for the practice of ‘family-centred care’. This study demonstrates the difference between the professional rhetoric and the parental reality of ‘family-centred care’ in the context of one hospital children’s ward between 1960 and 1990. The practice of ‘family-centred care’ placed mothers and nurses in contradictory positions within the ward environment. These contradictory positions were historically enduring, although they varied in their enactment.</p>

scholarly journals Protection Against Slavery in New Zealand

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Heesterman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Current Treatment ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
Modern Problem ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
European Court

The decision of the European Court of Human Rights in CN v The United Kingdom highlighted that slavery remains a modern problem. It may no longer resemble the traditional picture of slavery dramatically presented by Hollywood but it is no less an issue. Modern slavery is less visible; it is hidden away within homes, normal workplaces or in overseas factories. This article argues that New Zealand's current treatment of slavery is inadequate, exemplified by the absence of prosecutions. Thorough protection of slavery requires clear definitions that courts can easily apply. This article explores how the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 could be used to remedy this situation. This article argues for the application of the Drittwirkung concept to give a horizontal effect to a right against slavery. Furthermore it is argued that New Zealand is under positive obligations to actively prevent rights violations, not merely avoid them. These positive obligations are a key component of modern human rights jurisprudence and can be read into the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. This article speculates that one action courts could take is to undertake the development of a tort action against slavery.

The Need for a Constitution in the United Kingdom

1979 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-285
Author(s):  
Wilberforce
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Flexible Instrument ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right

I was not surprised when, from several alternative subjects, you chose, as the title of my Lecture, the need for a Constitution in Britain. Those of us without a written constitution are indeed, a select club—New Zealand, Israel, the United Kingdom.I will start with a quotation from Lord Salmon. In a recent lecture, he said: In this country [U.K.] we have an unwritten constitution. I have always regarded this as a blessing and never agreed with the theoretical objections to it. It is superbly flexible and above all it has stood the test of time. It works—and works admirably. But I am beginning to wonder whether it might not be wise to evolve, not an elaborate written constitution but perhaps the equivalent of a modern Bill of Rights. A statute which should lay down our basic freedoms, provide for their preservation and enact that it could not be repealed save by, say, a 75% majority of both Houses of Parliament.One can recognize in this passage the views of an eminent common lawyer, believing in the strength and potentialities of the common law as a flexible instrument, in, of course, the right hands: of one who believes deeply in human freedom, and who is concerned about the threat to it: who desires an explicit definition of the basic liberties and who believes that these can be protected by a sufficiently strong, entrenched, legal system. In this he undoubtedly reflects the views of many people, probably of the majority of ordinary men.

scholarly journals 'Can Mummy Come Too?' Rhetoric and Realities of 'Family-Centred Care' in One New Zealand Hospital, 1960-1990.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kim Therese Chenery
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Public Response ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Separation Thesis ◽  
Society Application ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
The Difference

<p>The development of ‘family-centred care’ began in the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s in response to ‘expert’ concern for the child as an ‘emotional’ being. John Bowlby’s maternal deprivation thesis suggested that constant maternal attention in the early years of life would ensure emotionally healthy future members of society. Application of this theory to the hospital children’s ward indicated that young children should not be without their mothers for long periods of time. This theory and the subsequent release of the Platt Report in the United Kingdom in 1959 provided the necessary ‘scientific’ justification allowing mothers greater access to the historically restrictive hospital children’s wards. Influenced by trends in the United Kingdom the tenets of the separation thesis were reflected in New Zealand government policy towards child care and the care of the hospitalised child. However, the wider societal context in which these changes were to be accepted in New Zealand hospital children’s wards has not been examined. This study explores the development of ‘family-centred care’ in New Zealand as part of an international movement advanced by ‘experts’ in the 1950s concerned with the psychological effects of mother-child separation. It positions the development of ‘family-centred care’ within the broader context of ideas and beliefs about mothering and children that emerged in New Zealand society between 1960 and 1980 as a response to these new concerns for children’s emotional health. It examines New Zealand nursing, medical and related literature between 1960 and 1990 and considers both professional and public response to these concerns. The experiences of some mothers and nurses caring for children in one New Zealand hospital between 1960 and 1990 illustrate the significance of these responses in the context of one hospital children’s ward and the subsequent implications for the practice of ‘family-centred care’. This study demonstrates the difference between the professional rhetoric and the parental reality of ‘family-centred care’ in the context of one hospital children’s ward between 1960 and 1990. The practice of ‘family-centred care’ placed mothers and nurses in contradictory positions within the ward environment. These contradictory positions were historically enduring, although they varied in their enactment.</p>

The Prospective (Ir)Relevance of Section 3 of the Human Rights Act: A Comparative Perspective

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedict Coxon
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Constitutional Theory ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Human Rights Act ◽  
Human Rights Act 1998 ◽  
Principle Of Legality

Abstract This article suggests that the power conferred on United Kingdom courts by section 3(1) of the Human Rights Act 1998 (UKHRA) is legitimate as a matter of the interpretation of that provision. It sets out a contextual approach to the interpretation of section 3(1) consistent with general principles of statutory interpretation. This differs from most analyses of this provision, whether comparative or jurisdiction-specific, which tend to use constitutional theory as the framework for analysis. The article adopts a comparative perspective, applying the same approach to section 6 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (NZBORA). It concludes that the approach of New Zealand courts to section 6 is also correct as a matter of the interpretation of that provision. The different approaches of United Kingdom and New Zealand courts to these equivalent provisions is explained by a number of important differences between the UKHRA and NZBORA; including especially the context in which each statute falls to be interpreted. Some implications of this analysis for the development of the principle of legality in the United Kingdom in the event of repeal of section 3(1) of the UKHRA are briefly identified.

The use of oestrogens in fat lamb production

1955 ◽  
Vol 1955 ◽  
pp. 18-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. W. Averill
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
The United States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Weight Gains ◽  
The Difference

Recent work, mainly American, has indicated the possibility of using implanted synthetic oestrogens to induce faster and more economical weight gains in fattening lambs. Little has yet been done in this country to repeat or to extend these observations, and a possible reason for this may lie in the difference between the organisation of the fat lamb industries of the United Kingdom and the United States. Here, as in New Zealand and in other countries rearing sheep principally on pastures, many lambs are sold fat at light weights, while those not so well finished at weaning may either be fattened on grass or other green crops, or be overwintered and fattened as hoggets on grass in the following spring. In the U.K. fat lambs are thus seldom fed dry feeds as they are under U.S. ‘feed-lot’ conditions, and are slaughtered at rather lighter weights than their U.S. counterparts.

scholarly journals Constitutional Statutes and Implied Repeal: The Thoburn Decision and the Consequences for New Zealand

2005 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Prebble
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
City Council ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Parliamentary Sovereignty

The United Kingdom case of Thoburn v Sunderland City Council suggests that there might be statutes that may not be impliedly repealed because of their "constitutional" status. This article examines the Thoburn decision and considers its implications for both the United Kingdom and New Zealand. This article questions whether Thoburn can be applied directly to New Zealand’s constitutional situation, and in particular whether New Zealand even has statutes that might be called "constitutional". The role of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 is considered, as is the case of R v Pora, which can be seen as New Zealand’s forerunner to Thoburn.The article also examines the broader significance of the Thoburn decision and its implications for parliamentary sovereignty. Thoburn can be seen as a mid-point between the traditional supremacy of Parliament and a more rights-based jurisprudence because it protects rights without fettering Parliament’s ability to legislate.

scholarly journals The Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Parliamentary Sovereignty ◽  
Human Rights Act ◽  
Human Rights Act 1998

The Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (the Victorian Charter) was enacted 16 years after the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (NZBORA). Like the NZBORA and the United Kingdom’s Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA), the Victorian Charter is an ordinary act of Parliament which seeks to preserve parliamentary sovereignty by limiting the courts’ ability to strike down legislation. The Victorian Charter drew heavily upon the experience of New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The Victorian Charter expressly adopts some aspects of the NZBORA and the HRA (such as the interpretative rule), rejects other aspects (such as the ability to obtain damages for breach), but also includes some provisions that are quite different from either the NZBORA or the HRA. 

A Bill of Rights for the United Kingdom? Lessons from Overseas

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Donald
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Deliberation ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Right ◽  
Key Aspects

The right to participate in choosing or changing a constitution is becoming established in law and theory. The means of realising that right in the formation of Bills of Rights, and the consequences for democratic legitimacy, are matters of debate and experimentation. This chapter explores the processes used to develop Bills of Rights (or proposed Bills) in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and analyses key aspects of the design of those processes. It examines the context for creating a new UK Bill of Rights, including the work of the Commission on a Bill of Rights established in 2011. It reflects on the challenges facing the Commission in the light of experience overseas. It concludes that, on present evidence, the Commission is highly unlikely to achieve an outcome which might enjoy democratic legitimacy, in the sense of having been subject to inclusive and informed public deliberation.

scholarly journals The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act: going beyond declarations

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Hickman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Human Rights Act ◽  
Human Rights Act 1998 ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Cultural Pressures

The process of capturing and entrenching fundamental rights remains very much a live one in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In both countries there is pressure to move on from the current bill of rights legislation: the UK Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (NZBORA). While the two jurisdictions are subject to quite different political and cultural pressures, there remains a great deal of scope for exchange of ideas and experiences. 

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document