''Adelaide Co of Jehovah's Witnesses Inc v Commonwealth'' was a court case decided in the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

on 14 June 1943. In January 1941, acting pursuant to the ''National Security (Subversive Organisations) Regulations'' 1940, the

Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federalism, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster system, Westminster-sty ...

declared

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

to be "prejudicial to the defence of the Commonwealth" and to the "efficient prosecution of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

". Police immediately occupied premises of the organisation. In September 1941, Jehovah's Witnesses applied to the High Court for an injunction to restrain the Commonwealth from further trespassing on their premises, and seeking damages. The Witnesses argued that the regulations contravened the express constitutional protections for freedom from religious discrimination contained in

section 116 of the Australian Constitution Section 116 of the Constitution of Australia precludes the Commonwealth of Australia (''i.e.'', the federal parliament) from making laws for establishing any religion, imposing any religious observance, or prohibiting the free exercise of a ...

, which states: The court unanimously held that the ''National Security (Subversive Organisations) Regulations'' 1940 did not infringe against section 116,. but that the government had exceeded the scope of the Commonwealth's "defence power" in section 51(vi) of the Constitution. This was only the second case to consider section 116. The first had been '' Krygger v Williams''. In that case, the protections afforded by section 116 had been defined very narrowly..

References

{{Reflist High Court of Australia cases Australian constitutional law Rights in the Australian Constitution cases Defence power in the Australian Constitution cases 1943 in Australian law Jehovah's Witnesses litigation 1943 in case law History of Adelaide Christianity and law in the 20th century Law about religion in Australia 20th century in Adelaide

See also

References