Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Grant Hooper
Key terms/names
appeal, appellate jurisdiction, common law, court hierarchy, jurisdiction, original
jurisdiction,ruleoflaw,separationofpowers,statutorylaw
The courts (also referred to as the judiciary) are a central and critical part of
Australia’s constitutional system. They are one of the three arms of government, the
other two being the legislature (also referred to as parliament) and the executive.
Due to their lack of independent resources and enforcement mechanisms, the
courts are often called the least powerful arm of government. 1 Yet this description
belies their actual importance.
The specific and essential role played by the courts is providing binding and
authoritative decisions when controversies arise between citizens or governments,
or between the government and its citizens, regardless of whether the rights in issue
relate to life, liberty or property. 2
Australian courts are modelled on their English counterparts, and before
Federation each colony had a separate court system that was ultimately answerable
on questions of law to the Privy Council in the UK. After Australia’s Federation in
1901 the separate state systems continued, but the court hierarchy was modified
byinsertingtheHighCourtofAustraliabetweenthestatecourtsandthePrivy
Hooper, Grant (2019). Courts. In Peter J. Chen, Nicholas Barry, John R. Butcher, David Clune, Ian
Cook, Adele Garnier, Yvonne Haigh, Sara C. Motta and Marija Taflaga, eds. Australian politics and
policy: senior edition. Sydney: Sydney University Press. DOI: 10.30722/sup.9781743326671
1 Stephen 1982, 338.
2 Huddart, Parker and Co. Pty Ltd v Moorehead (1909) 8 CLR 330, 357 (Griffith CJ).
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