Amid mounting calls for the Commonwealth to intervene in youth justice systems, legal experts have advised the Albanese government has the constitutional power to raise the age of criminal responsibility nationwide.
The Albanese government can use the “external affairs” power to override state and territory justice systems to enforce its international human rights obligations, according to advice provided by two barristers, one a Senior Counsel.
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CEO of the Justice and Equity Centre Jonathon Hunyor said the legal advice, provided by barristers Kate Eastman AM SC and Emma Dunlop, clarified the federal government could use this power to override legislation that violates international treaties.
“Australia has international obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child to make sure that children are being protected from harms that get caused if they are unnecessarily locked up, if they are mistreated, in detention centres,” he said.
“They’re the sorts of things that the government can act on to make sure that state and territory laws aren’t breaching those basic rights.”
