Drafting a Human Rights Bill

Name: Lori Kambitsis


Field or discipline: BUT
Program: Bachelor of Law
Course: Law, Society and Justice
Year level: 1
Class size: 20
Activity type: Drafting a Human Rights Bill

Aim: Develop graduate qualities 1,2,3,4 and 6

Description:
The class is divided into small groups and directed to draft a clause/provision that the group unanimously agree should be part of the Australian Bill of Rights. It is best to have a few suggestions clauses available, i.e. free education, right to marriage. Pre-reading is a must for students to understand the foundations of civil rights in various countries.

Preparation
Break into groups of 3 & request groups allocate positions

1. Scribe
2. Speaker
3. Timekeeper
   (5 mins)
   

Drafting – direct students to:

1. Decide upon clause
2. Note pros and cons of such clause in a Bill of Rights (10 mins)
3. Draft clause, including Exclusions, Definitions, Conditions and Sanctions
   (20 mins)
   
   

Report - Class to report at mock senior officer’s meeting:

1. Pros and cons of including the draft clause into a BOR
2. Methodology of drafting to avoid ambiguity, relevance now and into the future
3. Difficulties with this exercise
4. Which tools/resources do you require in order to complete this activity properly – (e.g. legislation access to internet, social views, economic position etc)
   (20 mins)
   

Staff role is to walk around to each group and facilitate critical thinking:

• Expose ambiguities
• Raise issues
• Support and validate good work
• Keep them on track
• Question their work, make observations etc.
  

Drafting Brief for students
You are a policy officer in the Attorney-General’s Department. You are asked to draft one clause for a Bill of Rights for Australia over the next 20 minutes.
Prepare a draft clause and be prepared to discuss, at a senior officer’s meeting, the following:

1. Why the draft clause should be included along with suggestions to overcome likely objections to its inclusion
2. How the clause is unambiguous, relevant now and will be suitable for the future
3. The difficulties you as a group experienced in undertaking this task
4. Which tools/ resources would assist to make this task easier.
   

Application
Allows students to:

• build relationships with each other by working collaboratively
• appreciate the complexity of drafting
• be aware of how social and historical underpinnings of a country can effect legislating
• realise the policy implications of legislating
• comprehend the difference between negative and positive human rights and as a result the impacts and effects on social economic and political imperatives of government when drafting legislation.
• develop written communicative and legal writing skills in particular understanding the complexity of language requirements in drafting and the need to write clearly and concisely –i.e. articulate yet plain and simple
• develop and refine critical thinking skills

Allows opportunity to facilitate student learning rather than default to a mini-lecture. It is fun and gives a taste of what the vocation of law can involve.