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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).

Figure 2

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
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.