Peer review publication: Canberra Law Review, Vol 9, 2006, p21-30

The case of S.I. by his next friend C.C. v K.S. by his next friend I.S.1 (‘SI v KS’) is perhaps the most significant case decided under the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT) since this legislative bill of rights came into force on 1 July 2004. It is the first, and so far the only, case in which the ACT Supreme Court has been asked to declare that legislation is incompatible with the Human Rights Act. It is also the first case in which both the ACT Attorney-General and the ACT Human Rights Commissioner have intervened to make submissions about the application of the Human Rights Act. The judgment of Higgins CJ is ground-breaking in the bold approach taken to the interpretation of legislation, apparently pursuant to the Human Rights Act. Yet SI v KS is also significant for the lack of explicit discussion about the operative provisions of the Human Rights Act, and for the questions it leaves unanswered.

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