• Specific Year
    Any

Sackville, Justice Ronald --- "Courts and Social Change" [2005] FedLawRw 13; (2005) 33(3) Federal Law Review 373

[*] Judge, Federal Court of Australia. A revised version of a paper delivered at the Australian Lawyers and Social Change Conference, September 2004. I acknowledge the valuable research assistance of May Miller-Dawkins in the preparation of this paper.

[1] See, eg, Roger Cotterrell, The Sociology of Law: An Introduction (1984) ch 2; Gerald N Rosenberg, The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change? (1991) ch 1; Lawrence Lessig, 'The Regulation of Social Meaning' (1995) 62 University Chicago Law Review 943.

[2] Chief Justice Anthony Murray Gleeson, 'Out of Touch or Out of Reach?', (Speech delivered at the Judicial Conference of Australia Colloquium, Adelaide, 2 October 2004).

[3] Mr Dooley was the creation of Finley Peter Dunne, Mr Dooley's Opinions (1901), cited by Rosenberg, above n 1, 13.

[4] John Gava, 'The Rise of the Hero Judge' [2001] UNSWLawJl 60; (2001) 24 University of New South Wales Law Journal 747, 747–8. See also Haig Patapan, Judging Democracy: The New Politics of the High Court of Australia (2000) 6.

[5] [1954] USSC 42; 347 US 483 (1954).

[6] Gordon E Marshall (ed), Dictionary of Sociology (1998) 65.

[7] Eric A Posner, 'Law, Economics and Inefficient Norms' (1996) 144 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1697, 1699.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Cotterrell, above n 1, 86, citing Talcott Parsons, 'Durkheim's Contribution to the Theory of Integration of Social Systems' in Kurt H Wolff (ed), Essays on Sociology and Philosophy by Emile Durkheim et al (1964) 8.

[10] Hans Haferkamp and Neil J Smelser (eds), Social Change and Modernity (1992) 2.

[11] Ibid.

[12] For illustrations see Data Access Corporation v Powerflex Services Pty Ltd [1999] HCA 49; (1999) 202 CLR 1 (copyright in computer software); Kabushiki Kaisha Sony Computer Entertainment v Stevens [2003] FCAFC 157; (2003) 132 FCR 31 (circumvention of technological protection measures); Genetics Institute Inc v Kirin —Amgen Inc (No 3) (1998) 156 ALR 30 (patentability of invention using DNA techniques to produce polypeptide proteins).

[13] Grain Pool of Western Australia v Commonwealth (2000) 202 CLR 479 (upholding the constitutional validity of the Plant Breeder's Rights Act 1994 (Cth).

[14] Dow Jones & Co Inc v Gutnick (2002) 210 CLR 575 (internet defamation).

[15] Such as the values implicit in the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth); cf Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1, 41–2 (Brennan J). For a study of the circumstances in which normative changes cause decisions to lose force as precedents, see William N Eskridge Jr, 'Lawrence's Jurisprudence of Tolerance: Judicial Review to Lower the Stakes of Identity Politics' (2004) 88 Minnesota Law Review 1021.

[16] (2002) 212 CLR 338.

[17] Ibid 363 (Gaudron, Gummow and Hayne JJ).

[18] Justice Michael Adams, 'Heroes and Heresy: Myth Meets Legal Fundamentalism' (2004) 78 Australian Law Journal 587.

[19] Ibid 588, referring to Gava, above n 4.

[20] Gava, above n 4, 747, 749, 752.

[21] Greg Craven, 'The High Court of Australia: A Study in the Abuse of Power' [1999] UNSWLawJl 47; (1999) 22 University of New South Wales Law Journal 216, 217.

[22] Justice John Dyson Heydon, 'Judicial Activism and the Death of the Rule of Law' (2003) 47 Quadrant 9, 14.

[23] Tom Campbell, 'Judicial Activism — Justice or Treason?' [2003] OtaLawRw 2; (2003) 10 Otago Law Review 307, 311–13.

[24] Heydon, above n 22, 10.

[25] Ibid.

[26] Campbell, above n 23, 312. Oddly enough, Professor Campbell regards the Mabo decision (Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1) as compatible with 'democratic positivism'. He accepts that the decision was certainly not incremental, since it threatened the very basis of Australian property law. Yet he says that it was in order for the High Court to consider the 'relevant law of occupation in the light of an improved knowledge of historical facts': ibid 324. But why? Was Mabo consistent with 'such existing, clear, positive law as (was then) available'?

[27] Julius Stone, Precedent and Law: Dynamics of Common Law Growth (1985) 271, cited by Frank Carrigan, 'A Blast from the Past: The Resurgence of Legal Formalism' [2003] MelbULawRw 6; (2003) 27 Melbourne University Law Review 163, 165.

[28] Ronald Sackville, 'The Doctrine of Immunity of Instrumentalities in the United States and Australia: A Comparative Analysis' [1969] MelbULawRw 2; (1969) 7 Melbourne University Law Review 15, 53–7.

[29] See Carrigan, above n 27, 172–4. Sir Owen Dixon's approach to s 92 was discarded by a unanimous High Court in Cole v Whitfield [1988] HCA 18; (1988) 165 CLR 360.

[30] Justice Susan Kenny, 'The High Court on Constitutional Law: the 2002 Term' [2003] UNSWLawJl 10; (2003) 26 University of New South Wales Law Journal 210, 219, citing Philip Bobbitt, Constitutional Fate: Theory of the Constitution (1982) 61.

[31] Ibid 220, referring to Roberts v Bass [2002] HCA 57; (2002) 212 CLR 1, 40 (Gaudron, McHugh and Gummow JJ).

[32] Justice Keith Mason, 'What is Wrong with Top-Down Legal Reasoning?' (2004) 78 Australian Law Journal 574.

[33] [1996] HCA 48; (1996) 186 CLR 140, 231–2.

[34] Communist Party of Australia v Commonwealth [1951] HCA 5; (1951) 83 CLR 1, 193.

[35] Singh v Commonwealth [2004] HCA 43; (2004) 209 ALR 355, 364 (Gleeson CJ) discussing Cheng v The Queen [2000] HCA 53; (2000) 203 CLR 248 (which construed s 80 of the Constitution as to require unanimous verdicts in trials on indictment for offences against the Commonwealth). Compare the comments of Callinan J in Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Lenah Game Meats Pty Ltd (2002) 208 CLR 199, 336–7.

[36] [2003] HCA 38; (2003) 215 CLR 1. The issue was whether a couple who had become parents of an unplanned child as a consequence of medical negligence could recover as damages the cost of raising and maintaining the child.

[37] Ibid 128.

[38] Re Wakim; Ex parte McNally (1999) 198 CLR 511, which invalidated the cross-vesting scheme purporting to invest federal courts with jurisdiction in State matters.

[39] Ibid 548.

[40] Ibid 540.

[41] [1999] HCA 14; (1999) 197 CLR 510, 531.

[42] See, eg, the analysis of Grollo v Palmer [1995] HCA 26; (1995) 184 CLR 348 (upholding the grant of power to federal judges to issue warrants for listening devices) and Wilson v Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs [1996] HCA 18; (1996) 189 CLR 1 (invalidating the nomination of a federal judge to prepare a report for a Minister) in Elizabeth Handsley, 'Public Confidence in the Judiciary: A Red Herring for the Separation of Judicial Power' [1998] SydLawRw 9; (1998) 20 Sydney Law Review 183, especially 199–200.

[43] See Singh v Commonwealth [2004] HCA 43; (2004) 209 ALR 355, 359 (Gleeson CJ).

[44] For a similar view see Justice Frank H Easterbrook, 'Do Liberals and Conservatives Differ in Judicial Activism?' (2002) 73 University of Colorado Law Review 1403.

[45] [1988] HCA 18; (1988) 165 CLR 360. See Miller v TCN Channel 9 Pty Ltd [1986] HCA 60; (1986) 161 CLR 556, 570–2.

[46] The Attorneys-General of the Commonwealth and the States have a statutory right to intervene in constitutional matters before the High Court: Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) s 78A.

[47] The Federalist (No 78) (Eastern Press ed, 1979) 520.

[48] Justice Michael McHugh, 'The Strengths of the Weakest Arm' (2004) 25 Australian Bar Review 181.

[49] Ibid 182.

[50] Bank of New South Wales v Commonwealth [1948] HCA 7; (1948) 76 CLR 1. The proceedings were ultimately determined by the Privy Council: [1949] HCA 47; (1949) 79 CLR 497.

[51] Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth [1951] HCA 5; (1951) 83 CLR 1.

[52] Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1.

[53] Wik Peoples v Queensland (1996) 187 CLR 1.

[54] See Wilson v Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs [1996] HCA 18; (1996) 189 CLR 1; Kable v DPP (NSW) [1996] HCA 24; (1996) 189 CLR 51.

[55] Fardon v A-G (Qld) [2004] HCA 46; (2004) 210 ALR 50, 58 [23] (Gleeson CJ); 78 [102] (Gummow J); 88–9 [144] (Kirby J).

[56] See generally Handsley, above n 42.

[57] Chief Justice Anthony Murray Gleeson, 'Public Confidence in the Judiciary' (2002) 76 Australian Law Journal 558.

[58] Compare the distinction between community attitudes and community values advanced by John Braithwaite, 'Community Values and Australian Jurisprudence' [1995] SydLawRw 21; (1995) 17 Sydney Law Review 351.

[59] Gleeson, above n 57, 561.

[60] Chief Justice Anthony Murray Gleeson, The Rule of Law and the Constitution (2000) 127.

[61] Indeed legislative reforms which are at odds with community norms are likely to fail, as illustrated by the extent of non-compliance with copyright laws: Christopher Jensen, 'Note: The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same: Copyright, Digital Technology, and Social Norms' (2003) 56 Stanford Law Review 531.

[62] Brian Galligan, Politics of the High Court: A Study of the Judicial Branch of Government in Australia (1987) 176.

[63] Ex Parte Lo Pak (1888) 9 NSWLR(L) 221.

[64] Ex Parte Leong Kum (1888) 9 NSWLR(L) 250; Ex parte Woo Tin (1888) 9 NSWLR(L) 493.

[65] Ex Parte Woo Tin (1888) 9 NSWLR(L) 493, 493–4.

[66] Interestingly enough, the 'political crisis', as Isaacs J described it, was addressed by convening an Inter-Colonial Conference to discuss the enactment of uniform legislation to restrict Chinese immigration. The conference led the five mainland Colonies to legislate so as to prohibit the entry of Chinese into the colonies except in very limited circumstances. The conflict between the judiciary and the Executive was therefore resolved in favour of the latter, but only by the intervention of the legislatures. The sequence of events is described by Isaacs J in R v McFarlane; Ex parte O'Flanagan and O'Kelly [1923] HCA 39; (1923) 32 CLR 518, 558–61. I am grateful to Justice Paul Finn for drawing these cases to my attention.

[67] When the High Court recently reaffirmed the immunity of advocates for forensic conduct, the hostile media response was tempered somewhat by calls for legislation to reverse the decision: see, for example, Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney), 14 March 2005, 12. The case is D'Orta-Ekenaike v Victoria Legal Aid [2005] HCA 12; (2005) 214 ALR 92.

[68] See David Hambly and John L Goldring (eds), Australian Lawyers and Social Change (1974).

[69] Commission of Inquiry into Poverty, Law and Poverty in Australia (Second Main Report, 1975) (Professor R Sackville, Commissioner) 2.

[70] 347 US 583 (1954).

[71] Rosenberg, above n 1. The book analyses the 'mostly disappointing' results of efforts to use the courts to promote social reform in a number of areas including civil rights, abortion, women's rights, the environment and reapportionment of electorates: 336.

[72] Ibid 39–40, citing, inter alia, Robert L Carter, 'The Warren Court and Desegregation' (1968) 67 Michigan Law Review 237, 237; Aryeh Neier, Only Judgment: The Limits of Litigation in Social Change (1982) 57; Harvie J Wilkinson, From Brown to Bakke: The Supreme Court and School Integration, 1954–1978 (1979) 6.

[73] See, for example, Peter H Schuck, 'Book Review: Public Law Litigation and Social Reform' (1993) 102 Yale Law Journal 1763.

[74] Rosenberg, above n 1, 338. By 'Constrained Court', Rosenberg means a Hamiltonian view of courts as 'weak, ineffective and powerless': 3.

[75] The literature is discussed in an article by Kathleen O’Sullivan, 'What Happened to ''Brown''?' New York Review of Books, 23 September 2004, 47.

[76] Ibid 49.

[77] Michael J Klarman, From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality (2004).

[78] [1896] USSC 151; 163 US 537 (1896).

[79] Klarman, above n 77, 19–21.

[80] Ibid 48–52.

[81] Ibid 443.

[82] Ibid 444–6.

[83] Ibid 452.

[84] Brown v Board of Education, [1955] USSC 59; 349 US 294 (1955).

[85] Klarman, above n 77, 312–20.

[86] Ibid 343.

[87] Cooper v Aaron, [1958] USSC 160; 358 US 1 (1958).

[88] Galligan, above n 62, 169 ff.

[89] Ibid 203–7.

[90] Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth).

[91] Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1, 29.

[92] Ronald Sackville, 'The Emerging Australian Law of Native Title: Some North American Comparisons' (2000) 74 Australian Law Journal 820, 831.

[93] See particularly Div 2B of Part 2 of the Native Title Act, inserted by the Native Title Amendment Act 1998 (Cth), which confirms past extinguishment of native title by 'certain valid or validated acts'.

[94] Wilson v Anderson (2002) 213 CLR 401.

Download

No downloadable files available