Protecting the Human Rights of Prisoners in Australia

Abstract

The prison environment raises particular problems for thinking about human rights. The individual has been lawfully deprived of their liberty as punishment for breaking the society’s laws. This means that the very existence of prisoners’ rights can be seen as open to debate, especially in a punitive political environment. This paper examines the argument about whether prisoners have rights at all; outlines the sources of rights in Australia and internationally, examining the enforceability and scope of these rights in practice; and explores the role of monitoring bodies in protecting rights in prison.

Keywords: prisons, prisoners, human rights, punishment, monitoring, OPCAT

JEL Classification: H36, I18, I30, K14, K23, K42