Week 1 What is crime? Glanville Williams, Textbook on Criminal Law (1983) 27: · legal wrong that can be followed by criminal proceedings which may result in punishment Louis Waller & CR Williams, Criminal Law (11th edn 2009) 1. more than an offence against one or more individuals - must be injurious to public in general 2. moral wrongdoing 3. not every transaction that can be considered morally wrong/injurious to public interest is a crime Peter Gillies, Criminal Law (1997) . crime = conduct which is recognised by the law as being criminal s2 Criminal Code (Qld) · Offence" is 'an act or omission which renders the person doing the act or making the omission liable to punishment Criminal Law and Protection of Rights · Crime and punishment serve to protect individual & collective human rights and liberties o no crime and punishment unless rights/liberties are violated · Homicide - right to live · Assault - physical integrity · Sexual offences - sexual integrity, i.e., freedom to choose whether or not to have sex and who with · Property offences - protect right to own and control property (in capitalist societies) · Drug offences - formerly: protects state's trade monopoly; now: protection of public health Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) Purpose, s3 (a) To protect and promote human rights; and (b) To help build a culture in Qld public sector that respects and promotes human rights; and (c) To help promote a dialogue about the nature, meaning and scope of human rights Protected rights · Civil and political rights, ss 15-35 o s 30: humane treatment when deprived of liberty o s 31: fair hearing o s 32: rights in criminal proceedings o s 33: children in the criminal process o s 34: right not to be tried/punished more than once o s 35: retrospective criminal laws o ss 36, 37: economic, social & cultural rights " Reflect rights afforded under ICCPR and some of rights recognised by ICESCR · s 38: when new laws proposed, every bill needs to be accompanied by statement of compatibility with human rights
o cannot prevent legis that conflicts with human rights, but identifies and publicses such conflicts · s 48: courts required to interpret & apply legislation, incl. criminal law, consistently with human rights o cannot strike down legis that fails to comply but · s 53: courts can issue 'declaration of incompatibility' stating statutory provision cannot be interpreted in a manner compatible with human rights · s 61: human rights commission o deals with human rights complaints, reviews effect of laws and compatibility of public entities, policies, procedures etc. and promotes human rights more broadly in Qld Bill of Rights? . Aus frequently criticised for failing to adequately recognise and uphold civil rights and civil liberties enshrined in international treaties to which Aus is party · While most western democracies have 'bills' or 'charters' to protect human rights under Constitution, Aus has no such instruments · 1959: Qld first state/territory to consider