Clayton Utz proud sponsor of 2008 Castan Centre human rights moot competition

Melbourne, 27 August 2008: Clayton Utz is proud to be sponsoring the second annual Castan Centre[1] Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Moot Competition, which gets underway this evening.

Over the next two weeks students from Melbourne University, La Trobe University, Victoria University and Monash University will debate various aspects of Victoria's Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006, including freedom of expression, freedom of association, and cultural rights.

The Charter, which came into effect on 1 January 2007, aims to protect and promote human rights by requiring courts and tribunals in Victoria to interpret legislation in a way that is compatible with such rights.

The first preliminary round of the competition will be held tonight at Clayton Utz' Melbourne offices, with a further round on Friday 29 August and the semi-final taking place next week.

The final will be held in the Red Court of the Victorian Court of Appeal on Friday 5 September in front of a judging panel comprising his Honour Justice Maxwell, President of the Court of Appeal, his Honour Judge Tony Howard of the County Court, and Dr Helen Szoke, CEO of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.  

The competition is open to the public and people are encouraged to come and support the teams competing.

The Deputy Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Dr Paula Gerber, said the competition was just one way in which the Castan Centre could contribute to educating the country's future lawyers and the public about the importance of human rights.

"The Charter is essentially Victoria’s Bill of Rights. It is already having a significant impact on the way lawyers conduct cases in court, and it is therefore essential that law students become familiar with this new legislation. Giving students an opportunity to apply the Charter to factual scenarios, and argue its interpretation and operation is the best possible training for students. The Castan Centre and Clayton Utz are proud to host the first, and still only, mooting competition focusing on human rights and the Victorian Charter."

Clayton Utz Melbourne managing partner Brad Vann said the firm was pleased to support the Castan Centre in raising awareness of human rights issues in Victoria.

"The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 is an important piece of legislation that impacts on all Victorian individuals and organisations, and is an area in which Clayton Utz is increasingly called upon to provide specialist advice," Mr Vann said. "The Castan Centre is to be commended for its efforts to contribute to a greater understanding of the Charter and how it affects all of us."

[1] The Castan Centre was established to meet the need for and interest in the study of human rights law both in Australia and internationally. The Centre is named after the late Ron Castan AM QC, who was a passionate advocate of human rights, particularly for indigenous Australians.