The presenter

Dr Anita Mackay joined La Trobe Law School in August 2016. Her research focuses on how law – particularly international human rights law – may be used as a tool to protect vulnerable and marginalised members of the community. Dr Mackay’s doctoral thesis undertaken at Monash University developed six prerequisites for achieving international human rights law compliance in Australian prisons. Dr Mackay is a co-editor (with Bronwyn Naylor and Julie Debeljak) of Human Rights in Closed Environments (2014).

In this seminar, Dr Anita Mackay will present a paper she co-authored with Dr Oscar Roos from Deakin University

Abstract

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has not considered the application of the ICCPR to same-sex marriage since providing their views in 2002 in response to an individual communication brought by two lesbian couples about New Zealand’s Marriage Act. Since 2002, the pace of reform globally has been increasing, with numerous countries now allowing same-sex couples to marry—in many cases in response to court decisions. This paper uncovers a wealth of historical material concerning the drafting of the right to marry contained in Article 23(2) of the ICCPR and marshals an impressive array of contemporary and evolving domestic, supra-national and international jurisprudence to present a comprehensive argument that an interpretation of Article 23(2) which encompasses same-sex marriage is consistent with the general rule of treaty interpretation contained in the Vienna Convention on the Interpretation of Treaties.

Registration deadline

Light refreshments will be served from 11.45am-12noon. For catering purposes, registration by Thursday 14 September would be appreciated.