The Chief Justice of Australia is the presiding Justice of the
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution.
The High Court was established following passage of the '' Judiciary Act 1903''. ...
and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the
Commonwealth of Australia. The incumbent is
Susan Kiefel, who is the
first woman to hold the position.
Constitutional basis
The office of Chief Justice of the High Court is established under section 71 of the
Australian Constitution, 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, appointment has been until the mandatory retirement age of seventy (before 1977, appointment was for life). The one substantial difference between a Chief Justice and the other Justices of the court is that, where opinion on the court is evenly divided, ordinarily 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
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
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
Sir Garfield Edward John Barwick, (22 June 190313 July 1997) was an Australian judge who was the seventh and longest serving Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1964 to 1981. He had earlier been a Liberal Party politician, serving as a m ...
created controversy during the
1975 Australian constitutional crisis
The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, also known simply as the Dismissal, culminated on 11 November 1975 with the dismissal from office of the prime minister, Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), by Governor-General Sir ...
when he advised Governor-General
Sir John Kerr
Sir John Robert Kerr (24 September 1914 – 24 March 1991) was an Australian barrister and judge who served as the 18th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1974 to 1977. He is primarily known for his involvement in the 1975 constit ...
on the constitutional legality of dismissing a prime ministerespecially as the prime minister,
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the h ...
, 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
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
{{Justices of the High Court of Australia
*
Lists of judges of Australian superior courts