The ACT Human Rights Act (HRA) of 2004 was noted as an extremely vital step in the right direction towards forging a formidable human rights foundation in Australia. It is also imperative to mention that it was the first-ever bill of rights adopted by the legislature in Australia. Hence, this Act offered some form of constitutional model that could be embraced in other geographical locations. Moreover, the 2004 Act added much-needed momentum in establishing a fundamental human rights legislation that was previously missing in Australia (Hilary 2008, p.78).
Needless to say, one of the irrefutable strengths of the Human Rights Act (2004) is that it has been a relatively flexible legal document and not static in nature. As such, it has permitted the process of carrying out necessary amendments regularly. It is worth mentioning that any valid constitutional instrument should be dynamic enough to accommodate the changes phases of mankind and civilization.
The Human Rights Act (HRA) of 2004 also laid a firm foundation especially among public authorities who are mandated by the law to adhere to its contents to the letter. For instance, any possibility of breaches to the HRA was minimized in 2009 when an amendment was done in order to empower the Supreme Court to prosecute individuals who contravene it.
The human rights protection and the associated dialogue model have also been observed in the operations of HRA since it was enacted in 2004 (Andrew, Hilary & Gabrielle 2009, p.54). In spite of the growing doubts that HRA would occasion a gross surge in the litigation process, the policy and legal successes of the bill of rights have been more profound than the expected appeals in the Supreme Court. Needless to say, the key objective of this Act has been to improve the standards of legislation processes in the region.
However, the success of HRA has been partially hampered by the high level of bureaucracy. The latter tends to weaken the basic human rights platform. For instance, within the first year of its operation, all categories of the bureaucracy had not been penetrated. Hence, it was evident that capacity building and training were lacking in the implementation of the Act. This proved to be one of the core weaknesses of HRA. The Act did incorporate a training clause that would be used to offer civic education to public servants.
in addition, the ACT community has also been observed to be lagging in terms of a well-enhanced culture of human rights. This weakness has been compounded by inadequate systematic education among public officials.
The dialogue surrounding HRA has also been less substantive than it was initially expected. There seem to be no enforceable laws that can be engaged to compel courts to be proactive. So far, the latter has largely remained dormant thereby jeopardizing the full implementation of the HRA. The Supreme Court hardly takes serious prosecution steps whenever cases are filed against offenders. So far, HRA has no legal capacity to generate significant dialogue especially among the three organs of the government namely the executive, legislature, and the court’s system (judiciary). If the Act is to be successful in terms of implementation, then it will demand whole cooperation and goodwill among the key organs in the Australian government. For instance, bureaucracy cannot be eliminated by the HRA per se if the individual public servants assume the following role in its implementation (Gabrielle 2006, p.23)
References
Andrew, B., Hilary, C & Gabrielle M 2009, Australian Bills of Rights: History, Politics, Law, UNSW Press, Sydney.
Gabrielle, M 2006, “An Opportunity Missed?” Canberra Law Review Vol. 9 no.4, pp. 21-30.
Hilary, C 2008, Bills of rights, national, OUP, Oxford.