Chief Justice of Australia

From AustraliaSim
Chief Justice of Australia
The Chief Justice of Australia
Incumbent
DirtySaiyan

since 20 April 2019
Style The Honourable
Nominator Prime Minister of Australia
Appointer President of Australia
Term length No set term, though retirement is mandatory at age 70
Inaugural holder Sir Samuel Griffith
Formation 5 October 1903
Salary $486,000
Website [1]

The Chief Justice of Australia is the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia. The incumbent is DirtySaiyan.

Constitutional basis[edit | edit source]

The office of Chief Justice of the High Court is established under section 71 of the Australian Constitution, which establishes the High Court as consisting of a Chief Justice and at least two other Justices. The Court was constituted by, and its first members were appointed under, the Judiciary Act 1903, with the first appointments to the High Court commencing on 5 October 1903.

Role[edit | edit source]

The Chief Justice is first among equals among the Justices of the High Court, and the position differs little from that of the other Justices. All Justices, including the Chief Justice, are appointed by the President of Australia, on the advice of the federal government. They can be removed only by the President, on a request from both houses of the federal parliament, although this has never been done. Since 1977, appointment has been until the mandatory retirement age of seventy (before 1977, appointment was for life). The one substantial difference between a Chief Justice and the other Justices of the Court is that, where opinion on the court is evenly divided, ordinarily the side of the question that is supported by the Chief Justice prevails.

The Chief Justice often acts as the President's deputy, especially at ceremonies such as the opening of Parliament after an election. Chief Justice Samuel Griffith was several times consulted by Governors-General of Australia on the exercise of the reserve powers. However, Chief Justice Garfield Barwick created controversy during the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis when he advised Governor-General Sir John Kerr on the constitutional legality of dismissing a prime minister—especially as the prime minister, Gough Whitlam, had refused Kerr's request for permission to consult Barwick or to act on any advice except Whitlam's own.

The Chief Justice also administers the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Office to the President-designate when he or she takes up his or her appointment.

List[edit | edit source]

No. Image Chief Justice Tenure Nominating
Prime Minister
? _slothsworth 23 August 2018 – 11 September 2018
(19 days)
PineappleCrusher_
? CircleSongIsDank 26 September 2018 – 11 November 2018
(1 month and 16 days)
BloodyChrome
? Maxwell2210 22 November 2018 – 6 January 2019
(1 month and 15 days)
BloodyChrome
? PM-ME-SPRINKLES 8 January 2019 – 19 April 2019
(3 months and 11 days)
Youmaton
? tbyrn21 20 April 2019 – present
(4 years, 11 months and 5 days)
Youmaton