A Life without Hope - The Victorian Charter and Parole

In Minogue v Victoria (2018) 92 ALJR 668, [79]; [2018] HCA 27, the High Court upheld legislation that made it virtually impossible for a specific prisoner to obtain parole. The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 (Vic) was expressly excluded from this legislation but Gageler J drew attention to the requirements of the Victorian Charter. His Honour suggested that legislation which removes the possibility of parole from specific prisoners and condemns them to a " life without hope" is contrary to the Victorian Charter. This article questions that suggestion. It argues that European and British law, which greatly inform the Victorian Charter, have accepted that a life sentence without the possibility of parole may be compatible with human rights law. The article argues that the same can be true in Victorian law in limited circumstances.