Hilary Charlesworth on Bills of Rights

Oct 7, 2009

What does a country gain by enacting a bill of rights? Do countries that lack bills of rights, like Australia, protect human rights as well as those, like the United States and Canada, that have them?

The widespread agreement on the importance of human rights in liberal democracies masks sharp differences between governments' methods of protecting these rights. What does a country gain by enacting a bill of rights? Do countries that lack bills of rights, like Australia, protect human rights as well as those, like the United States and Canada, that have them? Does it make a difference if such rights are written into a foundational government document, as they in the United States, or if they are at least ostensibily on par with all other legislation, as they are in the United Kingdom?

In this episode of Public Ethics Radio, human-rights lawyer Hilary Charlesworth leads us through the challenging questions posed by the institutionalization of human rights.

You may also like

NOV 25, 2025 Video

Geopolitics in an Era of AGI

As nations and researchers race to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI), watch this expert panel discuss the geopolitical impacts of this technology.

NOV 20, 2025 Podcast

The Principle of Pragmatic Idealism, with Björn Holmberg

Björn Holmberg, executive director of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, joins "Values & Interests" to discuss the power of pragmatic idealism across international relations.

he bright rays of the sun are shining from saturated clouds to mountain. CREDIT: PhilipYb Studio/Shutterstock.com.

NOV 7, 2025 Report

Ethical Stimulus for a Time of Climate Crisis

Access this report which argues that applied ethics offers promising potential to identify new pathways to normalize and accelerate implementation of climate action.

Not translated

This content has not yet been translated into your language. You can request a translation by clicking the button below.

Request Translation