Chief Justice of Australia

Constitutional basis

The office of chief justice is established under section 71 of the Constitution of Australia, which establishes the High Court as consisting of a chief justice and at least two other justices. The court was constituted by, and its first members were appointed under, the Judiciary Act 1903, with the first appointments to the High Court commencing on 5 October 1903.

Role

The chief justice is first among equals among the justices of the High Court, and the position differs little from that of the other justices. All justices, including the chief justice, are appointed by the governor-general of Australia, on the advice of the federal government. They can be removed only by the governor-general, on a request from both houses of the federal parliament, although this has never been done. Since 1977, justices have been required to retire at the age of seventy. (Previously, an appointment was for life). The one substantial difference between a chief justice and the other justices of the court is that, when the opinion of the court is evenly divided, where exercising its original jurisdiction and not appellate jurisdiction, the side of the question that is supported by the chief justice prevails.

The chief justice often acts as the governor-general's deputy, especially at ceremonies such as the opening of Parliament after an election. Chief Justice Samuel Griffith was several times consulted by governors-general on the exercise of the reserve powers. However, Chief Justice Garfield Barwick created controversy during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis{{cite news | access-date= 10 April 2010}} when he advised Governor-General Sir John Kerr on the constitutional legality of dismissing a prime ministerespecially as the prime minister, Gough Whitlam, had refused Kerr's request for permission to consult Barwick or to act on any advice except Whitlam's own.

The chief justice also administers the oath of allegiance and the oath of office to the governor-general-designate when they take up their appointment.

List

There is a strong tradition of appointing new chief justices from within the existing ranks of the High Court. Out of the fourteen chief justices, eight were incumbent puisne justices on the High Court. Others have included incumbent chief justices of states (Samuel Griffith and Murray Gleeson) and incumbent attorneys-general (John Latham and Garfield Barwick). Uniquely, Robert French was appointed directly to the chief justiceship from a lower federal court, while Adrian Knox was appointed as a barrister in private practice with no judicial experience.

Chief Justice Sir John Latham took a leave of absence from the office from 1940 to 1941 to serve as Australia's first ambassador to Japan. Sir George Rich was Acting Chief Justice in his absence.

References

References

1. Williams, George. (2008). "High Court Appointments: The Need for Reform". Sydney Law Review.
2. "Remuneration Tribunal (Judicial and Related Offices—Remuneration and Allowances) Determination 2024".
3. Constitution, s 72 (amended in 1977).
4. [[Judiciary Act 1903]] (Cth), s 23(2).
5. Markwell, Donald. (1999). "Griffith, Barton and the Early Governor-Generals: Aspects of Australia's Constitutional Development". Public Law Review.
6. (16 January 2019). "Letters Patent Relating to the Office of Governor‑General of the Commonwealth of Australia".
7. Stuart Macintyre. (1986<!--). "Latham, Sir John Greig (1877–1964)". Melbourne University Press.