This thesis investigates the extent to which human rights law may be used to challenge the forced eviction of people who live in public space under public space laws. The specific case study is the operation of Darwin City Council By-law 103, which bans camping, or adults sleeping in a public place between sunset and sunrise. The by-law is used to criminalise or forcibly evict people who live in public space in Darwin in the Northern Territory. Darwin has the highest proportionate number of homeless people of any capital city in Australia. Indigenous people are significantly over-represented. The thesis charts recent legislative changes across Australia to demonstrate that public space laws, such as Darwin City Council By-law 103, continue to be popular public policy responses to law and order concerns. This legal regulation is being undertaken without ensuring compliance with international human rights standards. There has been a marked increase in Australia of the use of available domestic and international human rights tools to raise concerns about the enforcement of these laws against people living in public space. Through a review of secondary sources, the thesis establishes that some 15 human rights have been identified as potentially engaged by such enforcement but Australian jurisprudence has yet to emerge. The thesis selects the human right to privacy, family and home for detailed analysis. It interrogates available evidence from Darwin, international and comparative jurisprudence and secondary sources to determine whether the forced eviction of people living in public space under Darwin City Council By-law 103 may be found to violate the right to respect for privacy, family and home in a particular case. The study aims to make a specific contribution to growing endeavours to promote the human rights of people who are homeless, including people who live in public space. Its detailed analysis is designed to support a human rights litigation strategy at both domestic and international level, in order to challenge the extent to which people living in public space are subjected to criminalisation and forced eviction when they have nowhere else to live.

This thesis investigates the extent to which human rights law may be used to challenge the forced eviction of people who live in public space under public space laws. The specific case study is the operation of Darwin City Council By-law 103, which bans camping, or adults sleeping in a public place between sunset and sunrise. The by-law is used to criminalise or forcibly evict people who live in public space in Darwin in the Northern Territory. Darwin has the highest proportionate number of homeless people of any capital city in Australia. Indigenous people are significantly over-represented. The thesis charts recent legislative changes across Australia to demonstrate that public space laws, such as Darwin City Council By-law 103, continue to be popular public policy responses to law and order concerns. This legal regulation is being undertaken without ensuring compliance with international human rights standards. There has been a marked increase in Australia of the use of available domestic and international human rights tools to raise concerns about the enforcement of these laws against people living in public space. Through a review of secondary sources, the thesis establishes that some 15 human rights have been identified as potentially engaged by such enforcement but Australian jurisprudence has yet to emerge. The thesis selects the human right to privacy, family and home for detailed analysis. It interrogates available evidence from Darwin, international and comparative jurisprudence and secondary sources to determine whether the forced eviction of people living in public space under Darwin City Council By-law 103 may be found to violate the right to respect for privacy, family and home in a particular case. The study aims to make a specific contribution to growing endeavours to promote the human rights of people who are homeless, including people who live in public space. Its detailed analysis is designed to support a human rights litigation strategy at both domestic and international level, in order to challenge the extent to which people living in public space are subjected to criminalisation and forced eviction when they have nowhere else to live.

1950 m. Europos Tarybos Žmogaus teisių ir pagrindinių laisvių apsaugos konvencijoje įtvirtintas rinkinys teisių ir laisvių (teisė į gyvybę, kankinimų draudimas, teisė į teisingą teismą, teisė į privataus ir šeimos gyvenimo gerbimą ir kt.), taikomų kiekvienam, esančiam valstybės, ratifikavusios šią Konvenciją, jurisdikcijoje. Tačiau čia nėra išskiriamos vaikų, kaip specifinės socialinės grupės, reikalingos didesnės apsaugos, teisės. Visgi remiantis tuo, kad EŽTK įtvirtintos teisės taikomos „kiekvienam“, teigtina, kad jos taikomos ir vaikams. Šiame darbe autorė siekia atskleisti, kokios teisės yra užtikrinamos vaikams EŽTK 8 straipsnio plotmėje, taip pat tam tikrus, iš šių teisių kylančius, probleminius aspektus. Siekiant šio tikslo, ypač didelis dėmesys skiriamas EŽTT jurisprudencijai, kadangi remiantis šio Teismo praktika ne tik nustatomas tam tikrų teisių turinys ir jo kaita, bet ir atskleidžiama vaiko teisių apsaugai aktuali problematika. Pirmoje šio darbo dalyje bandoma apibrėžti, kas apskritai yra vaikystė, kodėl teisiškai svarbu nustatyti tiek aukštutinę, tiek žemutinę vaiko amžiaus ribas bei koks yra vaiko teisinis statusas. Nagrinėjama įvairi mokslinė literatūra bei įvairūs tarptautiniai ir nacionaliniai teisės aktai atskleidė, kad daugiausia problemų kyla nustatant žemutinę vaiko amžiaus ribą, kadangi šis klausimas tiesiogiai susijęs su abortų reguliavimu. Pagal kai kurių valstybių, tame tarpe ir Lietuvos, teisinį reguliavimą, matyti, kad neretai civilinėje teisėje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The 1950's Convention of European Council on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms establishes a set of rights and fundamental freedoms (the right to life, prohibition of torture, the right to a fair trial, the right to respect for private and family life etc.) applicable to everyone within the jurisdiction of the state that ratified the Convention. Children are a very specific social group, which needs greater protection. However their rights are not distinguished in the Convention. On the basis that the rights enshrined in the ECHR are applicable to „everyone“, it may be maintained that those rights can be applicable to children as well. The author of this work aims to reveal the rights that are guaranteed for children in the context of the article 8 of the ECHR. To this end, particular attention is paid to the jurisprudence of the ECtHR. According to the case law of this Court, it can not only be determined the contents and evolution of specific rights, but also relevant problematic issues for the protection of the rights of a child can be revealed. In the first part of this work the author attempts to define a childhood, to identify both the upper and lower limits of the child's age and the child's legal status. By examining different scientific literature and various international and national legislations it was revealed that most of the problems arise in determining the lower limit of the age of a child, since this issue is directly related to the regulation of... [to full text]

The years 2010 and 2011 recorded a number of incidents of natural disasters around the globe. These disasters resulted in death, injuries and loss of family members. Children, a vulnerable group of persons, found themselves caught up in the chaos of the natural disasters. Some children lost family members, others became separated from their families and caregiver(s) as a result of the disaster, and those who were "alone" prior to the natural disasters became completely exposed to serious physical and psychological harm. Yet, every child has the right to a family. States have a duty to protect separated and unaccompanied children. Such protection involves prevention of separation, assessment of the child's situation, registration, documentation, family tracing, verification and reunification, emergency care arrangements, and permanent care arrangements. Based on the premise that every child has a right to grow up in a family environment this dissertation attempts to answer the question: How can separated children and unaccompanied children, in the African context, be protected in the event of natural disasters such that their right to a family is promoted and protected? In so doing, it presents an explanation of the concepts of separated children and unaccompanied children through investigation xii into the practical effects of separation on children. It also presents discussions on the concept "natural disasters" and some of the effects of natural disasters on separated children and unaccompanied children. There is an attempt at defining the concept "family" based on its internal and external constitution and function, and a consideration of the needs which a family should satisfy in a child. Familial rights enjoyed by children are presented and analysed as rights which exist under the canopy of the "right to a family". In line with the Interagency Guiding Principles, the different stages of protection in natural disasters are highlighted and particular attention is given to intercountry adoption and the implications of placing moratoriums on intercountry adoptions at different stages of the intercountry adoption process, following events of natural disasters. The study stresses the need to balance the importance of protecting the child with the need to provide the child with a permanent family. Copyright / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Private Law / unrestricted