Civil & Political Rights Law & Lawyers

Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.

If you need legal help, please complete your free online legal enquiry form on the right.

Civil rights include the ensuring of peoples' physical integrity and safety; protection from discrimination on grounds such as physical or mental disability, gender, religion, race, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity; and individual rights such as the freedoms of thought and conscience, speech and expression, religion, the press, and movement.

Political rights include natural justice (procedural fairness) in law, such as the rights of the accused, including the right to a fair trial; due process; the right to seek redress or a legal remedy; and rights of participation in civil society and politics such as freedom of association, the right to assemble, the right to petition, and the right to vote.

Civil and political rights form the original and main part of international human rights. They comprise the first portion of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (with economic, social and cultural rights comprising the second portion). The theory of three generations of human rights considers this group of rights to be "first-generation rights", and the theory of negative and positive rights considers them to be generally negative rights.

Civil liberties and human rights Lawyers

Civil liberties and human rights is not a distinct area of law - legally enforceable rights and responsibilities underpin the legal system.

The Human Rights legislation affects relations not only between individuals and public authorities but also between individuals themselves. It impinges not only upon the behaviour of public authorities, the courts and tribunals, but also upon disputes regarding contract, commercial and insurance matters, personal injury, family, welfare, education, disability, mental health, immigration, property, employment, defamation, privacy, tax, housing, planning and the environment and criminal law and more.

If you need legal help, please complete your free online legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

These pages do not attempt to explain current law or to give legal advice. If you want to know more or need advice on a particular issue, you can find a lawyer by completing your free legal enquiry form on the right.

Human rights and public law - Protecting civil liberties

Protecting the rights and freedoms of ordinary people and challenging  discrimination are at the heart of Civil & Political Rights Lawyers work.

Lawyers practising in the area of Civil & Political Rights generally have the following clients:

(a) Individuals

They act for individuals and groups of people who believe their human rights are being violated by the state or other powerful bodies. They specialise in judicial review: the process by which the Administrative Court ensures that public bodies act fairly.

(b) Organisations

They also act for organisations, such as public authorities, businesses, and Non-Government Organisations. They can offer timely, clear advice on how organisations can lawfully exercise their powers - or advise when they are facing a challenge from an individual about previous decisions. The help their clients ensure that their decision-making is fair and robust.

(c) Activists and pressure groups

They regularly work with activists and pressure groups, where the legal case will be just one strand in a wider campaign or protest. Lawyers often appear in the media, explaining the legal issues involved, where it is in the interests of their client’s case to do so.

If you need legal help, please complete your free online legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.

Some examples of legal situations requiring the expertise of a lawyer where civil, political and human rights laws and legislation's apply:

• Duty to investigate deaths and suicide attempts in custody
• Race discrimination
• Denial of Australian citizenship
• Representation to prisoners
• Discrimination against gays and lesbians
• Environmental regulation and regulation of animal welfare
• Parliamentary Ombudsman’s exercise of power to investigate, and the government’s refusal to accept the Ombudsman’s report on various matters
• Professional regulation
• Exercise of police powers to prevent individuals participating in peace demonstrations
• Powers of coroners
• Rights to personal privacy and data protection and access to information
• Powers and duties of external auditors to local government and police authorities
• Corporate governance of public authorities

If you need legal help, please complete your free online legal enquiry form on the right, or click here.