InBrief

Last Friday, the director of public prosecutions, Nick Cowdery AM QC, was the special guest speaker at a lunch hosted by the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties. Under the title� "Prosecutors Do Care about Human Rights - Really!", Cowdery QC discussed three key issues: human rights and the role of the prosecutor; victims of crime; and Australia's anti-terrorism legislation.

He noted that "prosecutors have been increasingly required to incorporate into the execution of their difficult duties the observance and protection of the human rights of all involved in the criminal justice process and to do that in the application of the just rule of law."

On the subject of the government's review of victims' rights in the criminal justice system, the DPP emphasised the differences in approach between civil law systems and adversarial common law ones. Mr Cowdery said: "the most important action to take in relation to victims in our system... is consultation during the prosecution process – informing victims about what is happening, what is likely to happen and why and seeking the views of victims: not to form the basis of instructions, but to be included appropriately in the decision making process".

In respect of Australia's anti-terrorism laws, Mr Cowdery noted that such legislation "seems to have been received as a signal for the legislators to expand the operation of such measures into areas of what might be described as "ordinary crime" – to push the envelope of measures available to law enforcement with the anti-terrorism laws as a guide. I query the desirability, effectiveness or legitimacy of such a course".

17 August 2009

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