Book Review: Australian Constitutional Landmarks by H.P. Lee & George Winterton

Abstract

The publication of this collection coincided with the centenary celebrations of the High Court of Australia in October 2003. It celebrates the High Court's pivotal role in the development of the Australian Constitution. Like many other books of this genre - Lord Denning's Landmarks in the Law (London: Butterworth, 1984), Brian Simpson's Leading Cases in the Common Law (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995), Kulshreshtha's Landmarks in Indian Legal History and Constitutional History (Lucknow: Eastern Book Co, 1968), and Sir Guenter Treitel's Some Landmarks of Twentieth Century Contract Law (Oxford: Clarendon, 2002) - the editors have assembled sixteen essays to explain the selected constitutional landmarks "in their political, social or industrial contexts". In doing this, the editors also hope to bring these cases to the "attention of an audience beyond the narrow circle of constitutional lawyers."