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The Engineers Case Centenary: SCOTUS and the Origins of Australia's Scabrous Constitutional Signature Cover

The Engineers Case Centenary: SCOTUS and the Origins of Australia's Scabrous Constitutional Signature

Open Access
|Jan 2021

Figures & Tables

Figure 1

Length of HCA judgments (in words) from 11 November 1903 (the first judgment) to 31 August 2020 (the centenary of the Engineers Case) (inclusive).
Length of HCA judgments (in words) from 11 November 1903 (the first judgment) to 31 August 2020 (the centenary of the Engineers Case) (inclusive).

Figure 2

The frequency of outliers over the last twelve decades.
The frequency of outliers over the last twelve decades.

HCA outliers in the period from 1903–2020 (in chronological order)_

Case name and citation
R v Associated Northern Collieries (“Coal Vend Case”) (1911) 14 CLR 387 (22 December 1911)
Bank of NSW v Commonwealth (“Bank Nationalization Case”) (1948) 76 CLR 1 (11 August 1948)
Commonwealth v Tasmania (“Tasmanian Dam Case”) (1983) 158 CLR 1 (1 July 1983)
Polyukhovich v Commonwealth (“War Crimes Act Case”) (1991) 172 CLR 501 (14 August 1991)
Mabo v Queensland [No 2] (1992) 175 CLR 1 (3 June 1992)
The Wik Peoples v Queensland (“Pastoral Leases Case”) (1996) 187 CLR 1 (23 December 1996)
Western Australia v Ward (2002) 213 CLR 1 (8 August 2002)
New South Wales v Commonwealth (“Work Choices Case”) (2006) 229 CLR 1 (14 November 2006)
Thomas v Mowbray (“Jihad Jack Case”) (2007) 233 CLR 307 (2 August 2007)
Pape v Commissioner of Taxation (2009) 238 CLR 1 (7 July 2009)
Momcilovic v the Queen (2011) 245 CLR 1 (8 September 2011)
Williams v Commonwealth [No1] (“School Chaplains Case”) (2012) 248 CLR 156 (20 June 2012)

Main sources of outlier complexity_

Source of Complexity and Cases Where it Appears
  • International law: I(1), I(2), II(1), II(3), II(5), III(1), III(2), III(3)

  • Federal design: I(1), I(2), II(1), II(2), II(3), III(3), III(5)

  • Aboriginal rights: I(1), II(1), III(1), III(3)

  • I(1): Western Australia v Ward (2002) 213 CLR 1 (8 August 2002)

  • I(2): New South Wales v Commonwealth (“Work Choices Case”) (2006) 229 CLR 1 (14 November 2006)

  • II(1): Commonwealth v Tasmania (“Tasmanian Dam Case”) (1983) 158 CLR 1 (1 July 1983)

  • II(2): Bank of NSW v Commonwealth Cth (“Bank Nationalization Case”) (1948) 76 CLR 1 (11 August 1948)

  • II(3): Momcilovic v the Queen (2011) 245 CLR 1 (8 September 2011)

  • II(4): R v Associated Northern Collieries (“Coal Vend Case”) (1911) 14 CLR 387 (22 December 1911)

  • II(5): Thomas v Mowbray (“Jihad Jack Case”) (2007) 233 CLR 307 (2 August 2007)

  • III(1): Wik Peoples v Queensland (1996) 187 CLR 1 (23 December 1996)

  • III(2): Pape v Commissioner of Taxation (2009) 238 CLR 1 (7 July 2009)

  • III(3): Mabo v Queensland [No 2] (1992) 175 CLR 1 (3 June 1992)

  • III(4): Polyukhovich v Commonwealth Cth. (“War Crimes Act Case”) (1991) 172 CLR 501 (14 August 1991)

  • III(5): Williams v Commonwealth [No 1] (“School Chaplains Case”) (2012) 248 CLR 156 (20 June 2012)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjals-2021-0001 | Journal eISSN: 2719-5864 | Journal ISSN: 2049-4092
Language: English
Page range: 27 - 106
Published on: Jan 6, 2021
Published by: Birmingham City University
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

© 2021 Benjamen Franklen Gussen, Sahar Araghi, published by Birmingham City University
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.