Access to Civil Justice: Can a Bill of Rights Deliver?
Torts Law Review 32-52, March 2001
22 Pages Posted: 27 Mar 2013 Last revised: 30 Apr 2013
Date Written: March 1, 2001
Abstract
This article explores how bills of rights may assist plaintiffs in accessing the civil justice system and attaining civil justice. It focuses on the rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and refers to specific articles in the European Convention of Human Rights and the United States Bill of Rights. Particular reference is made to the abolition of the common law rights of workers under the Accident Compensation Act 1986 (Vic) and the Transport Accident Act 1986 (Vic). The article concludes that bills of rights have little impact on preserving substantive rights of individuals, but may provide relief in relation to certain procedural inequalities.
Keywords: human rights, access to civil justice, ICCPR
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