''Attorney General (NSW) v Quin'', is a landmark Australian

judgment Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...

of the High Court. The

matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic part ...

related to

Australian administrative law Australian administrative law defines the extent of the powers and responsibilities held by administrative agencies of Australian governments. It is basically a common law system, with an increasing statutory overlay that has shifted its focus ...

and to an extent the

separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...

Background

The NSW Courts of Petty Sessions were abolished and replaced by Local Courts. 95 of the former magistrates were appointed to the new Local Courts, however six were not due to concerns about their fitness to be magistrates. Five of the magistrates, commenced proceedings in the

Supreme Court of NSW The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court ...

seeking an order that they be appointed magistrates. They were unsuccessful at first,''Macrae v Attorney-General (NSW)'' (1985) 7 ALD 97. however the

NSW Court of Appeal The New South Wales Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for civil matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian state of New South Wales. Jurisdiction The Court of Appeal operates pursu ...

held that the decision of the Attorney-General not to recommend their appointment as Magistrates was void because it was made in such a way as to deny the applicants' legitimate expectations of procedural fairness. The

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

's application for special leave to appeal was refused.''Quin v Attorney General (NSW)'' (1988) 28 IR 244. In 1988 there was a change of government and the new Attorney-General, John Dowd changed the selection policy to one where magistrates were to be selected entirely on merit and that required an assessment of competing applicants. None of the five were appointed. Mr Quin, Mr Nash and Mrs Sleeman commenced fresh proceedings, however Mr Nash & Mrs Sleeman subsequently decided to retire. Quin's challenge was on the basis that he had a real expectation to be reappointed which was founded in

natural justice In English law, natural justice is technical terminology for the rule against bias (''nemo iudex in causa sua'') and the right to a fair hearing ('' audi alteram partem''). While the term ''natural justice'' is often retained as a general c ...

. An issue in the case was whether the doctrine of estoppel could prevent a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

from changing that

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

. The Court of Appeal made a declaration that Mr Quin was entitled to have his application considered without reference to other applicants. The Attorney-General obtained special leave to appeal to the High Court.

Finding

The High Court of Australia found in favour of the Attorney-General, ruling that Courts were not able to overrule government policy as the appointment of magistrates is a role of the executive. Brennan J held that "Judicial review provides no remedies to protect interests, falling short of enforceable rights, which are apt to be affected by the lawful exercise of executive or administrative power" and that "Judicial review has undoubtedly been invoked ... to set aside administrative acts and decisions which are unjust or otherwise inappropriate, but only to the extent the purported exercise of power is excessive and or otherwise unlawful."

Principle

The

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

cannot by representation or promise disable itself from performing a statutory duty; this includes the adoption of, or acting in accordance with, a new policy.

References

{{reflist, 30em High Court of Australia cases 1990 in case law 1990 in Australian law

Background

Finding

Principle

See also

References