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International Treaties in Australian Domestic Law

Current Australian law on the relevance of international instruments to the judicial review of administrative decisions is neither straightforward nor certain. Not only is it an area of judicial debate, it has also aroused much political controversy, and even engendered some contestation between the judiciary on the one hand and the executive and the legislature on the other.
This paper will commence with initial consideration of the historical developments which have given rise to this controversy and subsequently focus on the issue of legitimate expectations arising from unincorporated international instruments- which remains the subject of considerable political debate, judicial dissent, and legislative action.
Traditionally there are four grounds for judicial review of administrative decisions – ultra vires, jurisdictional error, error of law on the face of the record, and denial of natural justice. Lord Diplock identified three underlying principles, saying ‘[t]he first I...

Posted by: Alexander Bartfield

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