MEDIA LAW AND ITS APPROACH TO PRIVACY

Media Law and Its Approach to Privacy

Media Law and Its Approach to Privacy

Synopsis

Australia has a federal system of government, with a national government granted certain powers, six state governments, retaining the residual powers, and two territories. The territories have legislatures and executives, but are subject to some federal government review. The Australian states, formerly self-governing colonies, federated on 1 January 1901. The traditional of liberal democratic government pre-dates federation, with early adoption of democratic reforms like secret ballot and universal suffrage. Australia achieved self-government and independence without the need for revolution or violence.

Background to the study

There is no provision in either Australia's Federal Constitution or in any of the state constitutions which explicitly guarantees freedom of speech and of the free press. Australia inherited the traditional English view that freedom of speech was best protected by the common law. There have been unsuccessful attempts to incorporate a guarantee of free speech, alone or with other human rights, into the Australian Constitution. The Constitution, however, is notoriously difficult to amend. Nonetheless, there have been three recent developments of interest. Although the ratification of treaties, for example the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), does not create rights and duties under Australian law without enabling legislation, there is some support for the proposition that the courts should have regard to international human rights norms in limited circumstances, including in resolving ambiguities in the statutory law or where there is no binding case-law authority.

Hypothesis

There is no provision in either Australia's Federal Constitution or in any of the state constitutions which explicitly guarantees freedom of speech and of the free press.

There is a provision in either Australia's Federal Constitution or in any of the state constitutions which explicitly guarantees freedom of speech and of the free press.

Main Purpose of The Study

The main purpsoe of the study is to find out the media law and its approach to privacy.

CHAPTER II

Literature Review

Relevant Constitutional provisions

Second, the Australian Press Council in its efforts to have freedom of expression set out either in the constitution or a Bill of Rights has committed to a Charter of for a Free Press in Australia, based on Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Third, it is arguable that the Constitution includes some implied guarantees of free speech. In recent cases the Australian High Court has ruled that freedom of political communication is protected by implication by the Constitution's commitment to representative government through elections. It has recently unanimously reinforced the existence of that implication, although its rulings demonstrate the fragility of a freedom guaranteed by implication rather than one written into over-riding law. Also, Section 92 of the Constitution, which declares that trade and intercourse among the states must be free, may have an impact on free speech.

Distribution of the powers between central and regional governments

The Commonwealth of Australia, a constitutional monarchy, is a federation of six states (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia), ...