Law and Government in Australia

An unrivalled collection of scholars contribute to a book to explore how law and government may affect each other. The authors are all leaders in their field and have joined to honour one of Australia’s most distinguished legal scholars - Enid Campbell -who was recently awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia for her services to the law and legal scholarship. The contributors examine problems within their special field of expertise. The constitutional law experts and their topics include: George Winterton on the changing role of the Governor-General Leslie Zines who examines one of the unresolved issues of intergovernmental immunities HP Lee who explains the implications of the High Court’s most recent decisions on the implied freedom of political communication Jeff Goldsworthy who considers the extent to which a government can bind its successor The administrative law experts and their topics include: Mark Aronson who asks whether the doctrine of nullity has a future in Australian law Bruce Dyer who explains how the High Court has refashioned the `legitimate expectation’ and what that means for the requirements of natural justice Dennis Pearce, a former Commonwealth Ombudsman, who examines the most important issues facing Ombudsmen today Sir Anthony Mason who asks whether estoppel has a place in Australian public law. The papers that cover other important legal issues relevant to government include: Matthew Groves who details how the declining role of ministerial responsibility affects the operation of judicial review Mike Taggart, New Zealand’s most eminent legal scholar, who explains the history of legislation used by Attorneys-General to have the most difficult people declared vexatious Richard Garnett, who explains the choices faced by the Australian government in the future of conflict of laws Enid Campbell examines the writings of the legendary American scholar Lon Fuller. She asks whether some government decision-making is just not suited to review by the courts.

Table of Contents:
The Binding Effect of State Law on the Commonwealth Leslie ZinesManner and Form Revisited: Reflections on Marquet’s Case Jeffrey Goldsworthy The Evolving Role of the Australian Governor-General George Winterton The “Reasonably Appropriate and Adapted” Test and the Implied Freedom of Political Communication H P Lee Judicial Review and Ministerial Responsibility Matthew Groves The Jurisdiction of Australian Government Ombudsmen Dennis Pearce Nullity Mark Aronson The Place of Estoppel in Public Law Sir Anthony Mason Legitimate Expectations in Procedural Fairness after Lam Bruce Dyer Polycentricity in Administrative Decision-Making Enid Campbell and Matthew Groves Reform of Australian Jurisdiction and Judgments Law by International Treaty: The Lugarno Option Richard Garnett Controlling Persistently Vexatious Litigants Michael Taggart and Jenny Klosser Appendix: Publications of Enid Campbell Index

Review :
Grove has assembled a distinguished group of contributors. The diversity of topics covered reflects the richness of Professor Campbell’s own scholarship. I found it a personal pleasure to dip once again into the subject matter of each of the essays. I am confident others with find this distinguished collection equally rewarding. - Ernst Willheim, Melbourne University Law Review, Vol 30:1, 2006