Leeth v Commonwealth
Encyclopedia
Leeth v Commonwealth 174 CLR
455 is a High Court of Australia
case that deals with the implied right of legal equality in the Australian Constitution
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The basis for the implied right of substantive equality (as advocated by Deane and Toohey JJ) comes from the fact that the constitution is a free agreement between the people of the colonies, and these pre-existing rights continued after federation
. In the absence of words that deny such equality, these pre-existing rights should continue to exist. This notion of equality is said to be vested in the courts as created in Chapter III of the Constitution, and these courts are to treat them "fairly" and "impartially".
Commonwealth Law Reports
The Commonwealth Law Reports are the authorised reports of decisions of the High Court of Australia. The CLR are published by the Lawbook Company, a division of Thomson Reuters...
455 is a High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
case that deals with the implied right of legal equality in the Australian Constitution
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
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Background
The Commonwealth Prisoners Act 1967 (Cth) provided for a non-parole period, which differed depending on which State the prisoner was convicted in. The claim was that the Act authorised the unequal treatment of Commonwealth offenders.Decision
Mason CJ, Dawson and McHugh JJ denied that the Constitution contained an implied right to substantive legal equality, and only recognised procedural inequality. Deane and Toohey JJ found an implied right substantive equality, and while Gaudron and Brennan JJ did not agree with Deane and Toohey JJ, they did not disagree either. However, Brennan J did not agree that the right had been violated, and thus there was a majority for the outcome that the Act was not invalid.The basis for the implied right of substantive equality (as advocated by Deane and Toohey JJ) comes from the fact that the constitution is a free agreement between the people of the colonies, and these pre-existing rights continued after federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
. In the absence of words that deny such equality, these pre-existing rights should continue to exist. This notion of equality is said to be vested in the courts as created in Chapter III of the Constitution, and these courts are to treat them "fairly" and "impartially".