The claimant sought declarations that the government of Australia was not being conducted in accordance with the 1900 Act as it should be.
Held: Though the Act was an English Act, the Courts of England now have no jurisdiction over Australia: ‘when HM the Queen is exercising her functions under the Constitution, she is acting pursuant to Australian law. It is for the Australian courts to apply Australian law to determine the capacity in which HM the Queen is acting, the appropriate seal and the consequences (if any) if the wrong seal is used. It is not for the United Kingdom courts to enter the field proffering its view as to the proper interpretation of the Constitution. The claim was rejected on other grounds also.
Judges:
Lightman J
Citations:
[2005] EWHC 114 (Ch), Times 15-Mar-2005
Links:
Statutes:
Commonwealth of Australia Act 1900
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Buck v Attorney General CA 2-Jan-1965
By an action for declaratory relief, a challenge was offered to the validity of the Order in Council giving effect to the 1961 Act.
Held: The appeal failed. As a matter of international comity an English court should not grant declarations . .
Cited – Regina v Foreign Secretary ex parte Indian Association of Alberta CA 1982
The court traced the transformation of the doctrine of the indivisibility of the crown to the modern docrtrine of divisibility. May LJ: ‘Although at one time it was correct to describe the Crown as one and indivisible, with the development of the . .
Cited – Quark Fishing Ltd, Regina (on the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs CA 29-Apr-2004
The claimant sought damages for having had its licence to catch Patagonian toothfish off South Georgia revoked, saying that it had infringed its property rights under the Convention.
Held: Though the Convention rights had been extended to . .
Cited – Regina v Rochdale MBC ex parte Schemet 1992
In a proper case the court may permit a challenge to a decision which is months out of time. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Commonwealth, Constitutional
Updated: 29 June 2022; Ref: scu.222591
