Reflections on Law Reform and the High Court

Law Reform Commission Act 1973 (Cth). See now Australian Law Reform Commission (Repeal, Transitional and Miscellaneous) Act 1996 (Cth).

Kirby Michael , ‘Are We There Yet?’ in Opeskin Brian Weisbrot David (eds), The Promise of Law Reform (2005), 434. See also Kirby Michael , ‘Law Reform, Human Rights and Modern Government: Australia's Debt to Lord Scarman’ (2006) 60 Australian Law Journal 299–309ff.

Australian Law Reform Commission, Annual Report (ALRC 3), 1975, 20–24 [44]–[50].

Kirby Michael (2006) 80 Australian Law Journal 299 at 313 (citations omitted).

The reference to Chief Justice Mason is to Mason Anthony Sir , ‘Democracy and the Law: The state of the Australian political system’ (2005) 43(10) Law Society Journal (NSW) 68, 69.

Australian Law Reform Commission, General Insolvency Inquiry (Vol 1) (ALRC 45, 1988), 16.

(2005) 227 CLR 234 at 275–276 [140]–[141].

Human Rights Act 2000 (ACT); Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic).

Since the passage of the Human Rights Act 1998 (UK) and its commencement in 2000.

Scarman Leslie , English Law: The New Dimension (Hamlyn Lectures, 1984) 16.

Australian Constitution, s 70. The provision for appointments, resignations and removals appears in s 72.

The numbers of dispositions by the Full Court of the High Court of Australia (other than special leave applications) exceeded 100 in the reporting year 05/06. However, in the years 01/02, 04/05, 06/07 and 07/08 there were fewer than 80 and in two of those years they were barely more than 60. See Annual Reports of the High Court of Australia: <hcourt.gov.au/publications_01.html> at 9 February 2009.

See, eg, Attorney-General (Cth) v Alinta Ltd (2008) 82 ALJR 382 at 390–391 [28]–[33] of my own reasons; 396–397 [63]–[68] per Hayne J; 405 [104] per Heydon J; 242 ALR 1 at 9, 10; [2008] HCA 2.

See, eg, Kirby Michael , ‘Transnational Judicial Dialogue, Internationalisation Law and Australian Judges’ (2008) 9 Melbourne Journal of International Law 170.

Wurridjal & Ors v The Commonwealth [2008] HCA Trans 348 at 10, 95 ( French CJ Gummow Hayne Heydon Kiefel JJ Kirby Crennan JJ dissenting).