Subjects:

Other Jurisdictions , Australia

Contents:

The Scope of Public Law

History

The Rule of Law

Separation of Powers

Legislative Power

Parliamentary Privilege

Electing the Legislatures

The Executive

Judicial Independence

Judicial Review

The Ombudsman

Human Rights

Freedom of Information

Public law includes constitutional law and administrative law. In practice in Australia, constitutional law usually means Federal or Commonwealth constitutional law with particular emphasis on the powers of the Commonwealth. Public law, however, is wider than this and includes state and territory constitutional law which, in some jurisdictions, must be taught in law schools as a requirement of the rules for admission laid down by the local supreme court.

In addition to state and territory constitutional law, public law also includes local government and parts of criminal law, partically offences against the state and the administration of justice, public international law including human rights, and also torts that specifically relate to the holding of public office.

This book provides an account of Australian public law with a unique emphasis on state constitutional law, an area which is often neglected in other books. In addition to relevant cases and statutes, the book also considers the principles of public law that are not found in law reports, such as constitutional practice and constitutional forethought. The reader will explore an account of the conventions of the constitution including coverage of dismissals and dissolutions of governments, electoral law, parliamentary privilege, the executive power (including the royal prerogative) and the legislative power of the states and the federal limits to state legislative power.

The most recent legislative developments are comprehensively covered and a notable feature of the book is a reliance on parliamentary sources of constitutional practice as well as historical material illustrative of central principles, such as the rule of law and judicial independence. New in this second edition is a chapter on the Freedom of Information.