The legality of the events of the past few days regarding action taken by the Australian Navy to intercept a boat carrying 153 asylum seekers from Sri Lanka and evaluate their claims for refugee status while on board a Navy vessel will be the subject of scrutiny by...
“The High Court has delivered a formidable judgment in Lee v The Queen upholding the fundamental importance of a fair criminal trial. The judgment is notable as a strong statement of principle as to the nature of the criminal trial, and the continued relevance of...
“Finality is a good thing, but justice is a better” per Lord Atkin in Ras Behari Lal v King-Emperor (1933) Privy Council decision. The High Court in its decision dated 12 February 2014, Smith v the State of Western Australia 2014 HCA3 found that a jury verdict of...
Rule of law issues have featured significantly in a number of High Court judgments over the past weeks. In Monis v The Queen [2013] HCA 4, handed down on 27 February 2013, a range of views were expressed by members of the High Court about the ambit of freedom of...