Savage v South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust [2008] UKHL 74 (10 December 2008) The House of Lords has held that, pursuant to the right to life, health authorities have an ‘over-arching obligation to protect the lives of patients in their hospitals’.  This obligation includes a duty to ensure that staff are highly trained, professional and competent and that the policies, procedures and systems in place at the hospital adequately safeguard life.In addition to this ‘general obligation’, hospitals are under an ‘operational obligation’ to take all reasonable steps and measures to prevent the suicide of any patient that the hospital knows or ought to have known presents a ‘real and immediate’ risk of suicide.

Wellington R, (On the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] UKHL 72 (10 December 2008)The House of Lords has held that a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole does not necessarily constitute inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Dzieciak v Poland [2008] ECHR 77761/01 (9 December 2008)The case concerns the applicant’s complaint about the excessive length of his pre-trial detention and inadequacy of the medical care he had received during that time.  After the applicant’s death, the applicant’s wife alleged that the authorities contributed to her husband’s death by failing to take the appropriate measures to protect his health and life.The applicant’s wife relied on arts 2 (right to life), 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) and 5 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention.  This case is informative to the interpretation of corresponding provisions in the Charter, being ss 9, 10 and 21 respectively.

S and Marper v United Kingdom [2008] ECHR 30562/04 [Grand Chamber] (4 December 2008) The case of S and Marper v United Kingdom considered whether the retention of DNA and fingerprints from innocent people is consistent with human rights law.This case will be particularly informative for the interpretation and application of s 13 (privacy) and s 7 (limitations) of the Victorian Charter.

Salduz v Turkey [2008] ECHR 36391/02 [Grand Chamber] (27 November 2008) The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has overruled a lower chamber decision, finding that the right to a fair trial (prescribed in art 6 of European Convention on Human Rights) includes access to legal assistance during the investigation stage of a suspect by the police.

R (on the application of JL) v Secretary of State for Justice [2008] UKHL 68 (26 November 2008)The House of Lords has recently unanimously held that the right to life established by art 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights requires the state to carry out an independent investigation whenever a person is left incapacitated by a suicide attempt in custody.

E (a child), Re (Northern Ireland) [2008] UKHL 66 (12 November 2008)In this case, the House of Lords decided that a police response to sectarian unrest in Northern Ireland did not constitute a breach by the State of its positive obligation to prevent the infliction of inhuman and degrading treatment upon its citizens under art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.Baroness Hale discussed how the special vulnerability of children impacted upon the State’s obligations under article 3.

Seachange Management Pty Ltd v Bevnol Constructions & Developments Pty Ltd & Ors (Domestic Building) [2008] VCAT 2629 (25 November 2008)In this case, VCAT found that the Charter rights to a fair hearing (s 24) and the rights in criminal proceedings (s 25) do not extend to persons who are being investigated by police for possible commission of a criminal offence.

Re AWB Limited [2008] VSC 473 (12 November 2008)The Supreme Court of Victoria (Robson J) has held that civil penalty proceedings against five former directors of AWB Limited should be stayed in the exercise of the Court’s inherent jurisdiction.  This was on the basis that criminal proceedings are threatened against them for conduct that is substantially the same as the conduct that is the subject of the civil penalty proceedings.  Whilst the stay applications were not decided on the basis of the defendants’ Charter right to a fair hearing, the principles discussed by the Court provide guidance as to how Victorian courts may give content to the right in other proceedings.

Royal Victorian Bowls Association Inc (Anti-Discrimination Exemption) [2008] VCAT 2415 (26 November 2008)In a recent VCAT decision, Harbison J has confirmed that the limitations provision of the Charter now defines the parameters of VCAT’s power to grant an exemption from the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic) (‘EO Act’) under s 83 of the EO Act.This decision concerned an application by the Royal Victorian Bowls Association (‘RVBA’) and the Victorian Ladies Bowling Association (‘VLBA’) for an exemption from the EO Act to allow them to conduct single sex lawn bowls competitions.

Re Dickson [2008] VSC 516 (26 November 2008)In refusing an application for bail, Justice Lasry of the Victorian Supreme Court considered the impact of s 21(5) of the Charter – which provides the right to be brought to trial without unreasonable delay – on the Bail Act 1997 (Vic).

Director of Housing v IF [2008] VCAT 2413 (18 November 2008)The Residential Tenancies List of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal rejected submissions that making a compliance order against a tenant would be contrary to the Charter.  Member Nihill considered that the proceedings did engage the s 13 Charter ‘privacy’ right however considered the compliance procedure to be a reasonable limitation under s 7 of the Act.