R v DB [2008] SCC 25 (16 May 2008) The Supreme Court of Canada recently considered the validity of a rebuttable presumption that minors committing serious offences should be sentenced as adults.  A majority of the Court concluded that the presumption offended against the right not to be deprived of liberty otherwise than in accordance with principles of fundamental justice under s 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In the Matter of an Adoption of D [2008] ACTSC 44 (15 May 2008)A decision of the ACT Supreme Court has considered the scope of the right to family life and protection in the context of adoption proceedings.

McCann v United Kingdom [2008] ECHR 19009/04 (13 May 2008) The European Court of Human Rights has found that the United Kingdom violated art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to provide adequate procedural safeguards to protect the right to respect of a person’s home in the context of public housing.

Swain v Department of Infrastructure (General) [2008] VCAT 848 (9 May 2008) The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has held that a government authority’s refusal to issue a commercial driver’s licence on the basis of the applicant’s history of insurance fraud did not engage the applicant’s right to freedom from double punishment under s 26 of the Victorian Charter.  However, on the facts, the applicant was nevertheless found to be entitled to such a licence.

MH6 v Mental Health Review Board (General) [2008] VCAT 846 (7 May 2008) In a decision regarding the review of an involuntary treatment order under the Mental Health Act 1986 (Vic), VCAT considered the application of the obligation under s 32(1) of the Charter to interpret laws consistently with human rights.

Murray v Big Pictures (UK) Ltd [2008] EWCA Civ 446 (07 May 2008) The England and Wales Court of Appeal has considered that scope of a child’s right to privacy in a case in which photographs of the child of a celebrity were taken and published without consent.

Guss v Aldy Corporation Pty Ltd & Anor (Civil Claims) [2008] VCAT 912 (1 May 2008) In this recent decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, s 32(1) of the Charter was used to reject the previous interpretation of certain sections of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (Vic).

Abrahamian v Austria [2008] ECHR 35354/04 (10 April 2008) The European Court of Human Rights has held that the right to a fair hearing requires an oral hearing which may only be dispensed of in exceptional circumstances.

Gentle, R (on the application of) & Anor v The Prime Minister & Anor [2008] UKHL 20 (9 April 2008) In a judgment handed down on 9 April 2008, the UK House of Lords held that the right to life protections under art 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights did not impose a duty on the UK Government to hold an independent inquiry into the legality and decision-making process behind the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Kortel v Mirik and Mirik [2008] VSC 103 (4 April 2008) In this case, the Supreme Court was asked to consider the proper construction of s 6(2)(b) of the Charter, which provides that the ‘Charter applies to courts and tribunals to the extent that they have functions under Part 2’.  Part 2 of the Charter enshrines a body of civil and political rights largely derived from the ICCPR.  The issue arose in the context of the obligations of the Court to ensure a fair hearing to unrepresented litigants.  The Court also considered the scope of the power of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to intervene in a proceeding pursuant to s 40(1) of the Charter.

R v DA [2008] ACTSC 26 (31 Mar 2008) In an ex tempore judgment delivered by Higgins CJ, the ACT Supreme Court has stated that s 21 of the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT) confers a positive right to a fair trial and thereby modifies the common law which merely provides for the right to be free from an unfair trial.

Shtukaturov v Russia [2008] ECHR 44009/05 (27 March 2008) In this case, the European Court of Human Rights considered human rights issues arising from involuntary admission and treatment on the ground of mental illness.