Human rights are the key to a new legal system.  Human rights is an area of law that deals with the universal rights of every human being, rights that are inherent to us, regardless of our nationality, sex, ethnic origin, religion, language or any other status.

Human rights align with natural law - a system of laws that are inherently just, moral and correct.

If we can ensure that all those responsible for passing laws and interpreting laws receive the right grounding in human rights, if our national Constitutions enshrine human rights protections and if businesses are accountable for respecting human rights, we will have a legal system that is far more aligned  to natural law.

Show notes:

​[0:22] Human rights are the universal rights of every human being, rights that are inherent to us and apply regardless of our sex, our religion, or nationality, or ethnic origin, language or any other status.

[0:55] Some countries guarantee basic human rights to their citizens such as the United States through their Bill of Rights.

[2:30] The Bill of Rights has its roots in a document called the Magna Carta signed in 1215 by King John of England which established boundaries to the powers of the sovereign.

[3:50] Constitutionally guaranteed human rights means that no law can be passed by Parliament that infringes on those rights.

[4:33] Australia has a handful of constitutionally guaranteed rights, some expressly set out in our Constitution and others that are implied by the drafting and structure of the document.

[6:50] Australia has signed up to a number of international human rights treaties but only some of those  treaty obligations have been passed by Parliament to become legally binding laws in Australia, such as anti-discrimination laws.

[9:32] Some jurisdictions in Australia (Commonwealth, ACT, Queensland and Victoria) have specific Acts of Parliament that require new laws to be scrutinised by Parliamentary committees to ensure compatibility with human rights. There are many shortcomings to this system as a means of protecting human rights, since the executive government of the day often controls the process and political expediency often wins out,

[12:03] In ACT, Queensland and Victoria, courts can also declare laws passed by Parliament to be incompatible with human rights, although these declarations are not legally enforceable.

[12:39] Courts are also an important source of common law human rights. However, common law rights can be overridden by Parliament.

[14:17] Businesses are beginning to emphasise respect for human rights although there is a way to go before they can genuinely say they do so as their understanding of what human rights are and how they may be impacting human rights are still a work in progress.

[17:44] Natural law is a philosophy that says that human made laws should be based on morality, and ethics and what's inherently correct and natural. Human rights are aligned to natural law.

[19:18] We should ensure that all our laws and all those responsible for passing laws and interpreting laws receive the right grounding in human rights, Moreover, if our country's Constitutions enshrine human rights protections and if businesses are accountable for respecting human rights, we will have a legal system that is far more aligned to natural law.

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