ABSTRACT
This chapter covers parliamentary scrutiny of proposed laws to assess their potential implications for basic rights, the institutions of government, and good law-making, primarily through the institution of legislative scrutiny committees. It focuses on theory and practice; the national positions in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK); and the sub-national positions across Australian jurisdictions. The chapter also focuses that the business of Parliamentary scrutiny can be reconfigured in ways that reposition 'the people' in what is largely a legislator-centred exercise, at least in Australia. It also focuses on parliamentary scrutiny work embraces more than just scrutiny of proposed laws for human rights implications and from more than just a law-based perspective of what does or does not amount to an infringement of rights. The chapter discusses human rights debates on the respective merits of judges and politicians as guardians and enforcers of any bill of rights polarizes debate about institutional rights-protection and marginalizes those rights-protection measures.
