Justifications for limits on freedom of religion
Legitimate objectives5.50 The threshold question in a proportionality test is whether the objective of the law is legitimate. Freedom of religion is ‘subject to powers and restrictions of government essential to the preservation of the community’.[58] For example, in the Jehovah’s Witnesses case, Williams J stated that the scope of s 116 of the Australian …
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Read moreLaws that interfere with freedom of religion
5.66 Freedom of religion is infringed when a law prevents individuals from exercising their religion or requires them to engage in conduct which is prohibited by their religion.[80] Alternatively, the freedom will also be infringed when a law mandates a particular religious practice. There are few, if any, Commonwealth laws that can be said to …
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Read moreLaws that interfere with freedom of religion
4.38 Freedom of religion is infringed when a law prevents individuals from practising their religion or requires them to engage in conduct which is prohibited by their religion.[52] Alternatively, the freedom will also be infringed when a law mandates a particular religious practice.4.39 There are few Commonwealth laws that can be said to interfere with …
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Read moreJustifications for laws that interfere with freedom of religion
4.89 It is generally recognised that freedom of religion is not absolute. Instead, ‘it is subject to powers and restrictions of government essential to the preservation of the community’.[104] Legislatures and the courts will often have to strike a balance between so-called ‘equality’ rights like anti-discrimination, and other freedoms like freedom of religion:As a practical …
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Read moreEncroachments on Freedoms— The ALRC Freedoms Inquiry
NSW Bar Association, 10 November 2016, Sydney, Professor Rosalind Croucher AM*[Note: Professor Croucher spoke to this paper, so the text below is not an exact transcript of the recording of the presentation—some comments were added, especially at the beginning; and some parts of the text were somewhat condensed in presentation]AcknowledgmentsAs the Head of an Australian Government …
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Read moreCommon Law and the Protection of Rights, Freedoms and Privileges: Insights from the ALRC Freedoms Inquiry
The Common Law and the Protection of Rights, Freedoms and Privileges: Insights from the ALRC Freedoms Inquiry, The Mayo Lecture for 2016, James Cook University, Townsville, 12 September 2016 by Professor Rosalind Croucher AM*IntroductionThank you, Ed Harridge, President of the James Cook University (JCU) Student Association, for inviting me to present the Marylyn Mayo Lecture for 2016. I am deeply honoured …
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Read moreThe ALRC’s Freedoms Report and Government Lawyers— Issues on the Horizon
Australian Government Legal Network, 29 July 2016, Canberra, by Professor Rosalind Croucher AM*Transcript[Square bracket notes indicate interpolated material. Not all the text was delivered.]AcknowledgmentsAs the Head of an Australian Government agency, and in the spirit of our Reconciliation Action Plan, I begin my presentation by acknowledging the traditional custodians of this land, and pay my respect to the elders, …
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