Alternative Law Journal
Media Release
Volume 28, No. 2, April 2003
100 years of the High Court
In 2003 the High Court of Australia celebrates its
100th birthday. This edition of the Alternative Law Journal is a must
have for those wishing to dig deeper into some of the more fascinating
aspects of Australia's highest court. Authors from diverse backgrounds
examine a wide range of topics.
Read Greg Craven's discourse on the ethics of
constitutional law.
Look through the glass ceiling - In "A century
of appointments but only one woman" George Williams and
Rachel Davis discuss the topical issue that causes concern
in and beyond the legal profession, that of gender and appointment
of women to senior ranks in the legal profession.
Enjoy the text of Michael Coper's amusing speech
to the recent Constitutional Law Convention. Coper tests the successes
and failures of the High Court over the last 100 years by applying
a checklist of seven habits of highly effective families, a 'self-help'
guide to family relationships. He concludes that, as a family, the
High Court is almost completely dysfunctional!
Over the last 20 years there has been a notable increase
in non-party intervention in High Court litigation. In "The Road
Less Travelled" Jason Pierce argues that this trend demonstrates
that the High Court has moved from a private model of litigation to
a broader public model. He suggests that this shift points to a High
Court increasingly cognisant of both its legal and political powers.
The federal Attorney General claims that it is not his
role to speak in defence of the High Court. Who then should answer
criticism levelled at the Court? In "Defend Thyself!" Tatum
Hands and Danielle Davies argue that in order to answer
this question it is necessary to look to the nature and provenance
of the criticism. Rather than nominating just one defender, Hands
and Davies contend that different types of criticism require different
respondents, and that the judges themselves have a role to play in
their defence.
Only two cases on sex/gender discrimination issues have
gone to the High Court in the 30 years that discrimination legislation
has been in force. Jocelynne Scutt's article "Without
Precedent" examines the situation and points out that without
High Court precedent, sex/gender discrimination law remains without
the benefit of the country's highest legal authority. Consequently,
there is also a serious gap in the High Court's understanding of the
way in which this sort of discrimination is founded and operates.
No discussion of the High Court would be complete without
an examination of native title. The high watermark of the recognition
of native title rights in the Australian legal system is the Mabo
Case. Melissa Castan and Sue Kee trace the disappointing
political and judicial responses to Mabo and the issue of traditional
connection with reference to the Native Title Act and the Yorta
Yorta Case.
