Finding a Fair Reflection on the High Court of Australia

(2014) 40(1) Alternative Law Journal 13

5 Pages Posted: 13 Mar 2015

See all articles by Harry Hobbs

Harry Hobbs

University of Technology Sydney, Faculty of Law

Date Written: March 12, 2015

Abstract

Of the 51 Justices appointed to the High Court of Australia, only four have been women. Although all eminently qualified, there is something fundamentally wrong with this statistic. The principle of fair reflection is neither at odds with the fundamental principle of judicial impartiality, nor controversial when it comes to federal balance on the Court. It is time that the untrammelled discretion of the Attorney General is confined to require a 40% composition of either gender on the Court. Doing so would increase the quality of the Court’s decisions, and its sociological legitimacy.

Keywords: Judges, Judicial appointment, Courts, gender, legitimacy

Suggested Citation

Hobbs, Harry, Finding a Fair Reflection on the High Court of Australia (March 12, 2015). (2014) 40(1) Alternative Law Journal 13, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2577259

Harry Hobbs (Contact Author)

University of Technology Sydney, Faculty of Law ( email )

Sydney
Australia

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