Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children v Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development [2013] ZACC 35 (3 October 2013)The Constitutional Court of South Africa has found that laws criminalising consensual sex between young people are unconstitutional. The Court held the laws unjustifiably violate the dignity and privacy of young people and are not in the best interests of the child.

Bugmy v The Queen [2013] HCA 27 (2 October 2013)After considering the impact of Aboriginality on sentencing for the first time in 30 years, the High Court found that the fact that Aboriginal Australians “as a group are subject to social and economic disadvantage measured across a range of indices” says “nothing about a particular Aboriginal offender” but held that a background of social deprivation remains a relevant consideration for repeat offenders.

Mail and Guardian Media Limited and Others v Chipu N.O. and Others Case CCT 136/12 - [2013] ZACC 32 (27 September 2013)The Constitutional Court of South Africa has upheld a challenge to the constitutionality of section 21(5) of the Refugees Act, which provides for the absolute confidentiality of asylum applications in South Africa. The Court declared that the absolute confidentiality of asylum applications was an unjustifiable limitation on the constitutional right to freedom of expression and gave Parliament two years to remedy the defect in the legislation. In the interim, the Refugee Appeal Board (RAB) has been given a discretion to allow third parties access to hearings in particular circumstances.

Case of Soyler v Turkey, [2013] ECHR, Application No. 29411/07 (17 September 2013)The European Court of Human Rights has held that Turkish laws which disenfranchise those convicted of intentional crimes are automatic and indiscriminate and thus a violation of article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Thompson and Empowerment Council v Ontario, 2013 ONSC 5392 (12 September 2013)The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ruled that legislation introducing a community treatment order regime and expanding the circumstances in which a person with a mental illness can be involuntarily detained, submitted to a psychiatric assessment and admitted to a psychiatric facility, do not breach the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

CM, Re Judicial Review [2013] ScotCS CSOH_143 (27 August 2013) This case concerns the judicial review of a smoking ban imposed at the State Hospital of Scotland. Relying on articles 1, 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Court concluded that it was unlawful to prevent a person detained at the Hospital (a psychiatric patient) from smoking outside in the grounds of the Hospital.

F.K.A.G. et al. v Australia, UN Doc CCPR/C/108/D/2094/2011 (23 August 2013)The UN Human Rights Committee found that Australia violated articles 7 and 9(1), (2) and (4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by indefinitely detaining refugees subject to adverse security assessments without adequate reasons, review rights or individualised consideration of less intrusive options.

M.C. v Aaronson [2013] (22 August 2013)The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina Charleston Division has held that a sex assignment surgery on a child with an intersex condition which removed the child’s ability to procreate may have violated the constitutional right to procreation. The defendants’ motions to dismiss the case were denied and the plaintiff’s motion for expedited discovery was granted. This case has not yet proceeded to summary judgment.

Nigro v Secretary to the Department of Justice [2013] VSCA 213 (16 August 2013)The Victorian Court of Appeal has considered the effect of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) on statutory interpretation in the course of interpreting statutory provisions governing the making of supervision orders for serious sex offenders. In the context of an ambiguity in a provision and two open constructions that were consistent with the provision's text and purpose, the Court applied the principle of legality and section 32 of the Charter to adopt the interpretation more compatible with an offender's rights to freedom and autonomy.

M.I. v Sweden, UN Doc CCPR/C/108/D/2149/2012 (14 August 2013)The United Nations Human Rights Committee found that the deportation of M.I., a Bangladesh national, by Sweden to Bangladesh would constitute a violation of article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights because of the risk to M.I. of torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment if she were returned to Bangladesh.

Taypotat v Taypotat 2013 FCA 192 (13 August 2013)The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal determined that a minimum education requirement under voting legislation breached the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by discriminating against the elderly and aboriginal peoples.

Banerji v Bowles [2013] FCCA 1052 (9 August 2013)The Federal Circuit Court of Australia (Court) has left open the possibility for a public servant who criticised the government on her anonymous Twitter account to be dismissed from her employment. The Court rejected the public servant's application for an injunction preventing her dismissal from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (the Department) and confirmed that there is no unfettered or unlimited right to political expression in Australia.