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The Legal Personality of the Commonwealth of Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

Sebastian Howard Hartford Davis
Sebastian Howard Hartford Davis*
Affiliation:
Banco Chambers, Sydney
*
The author can be contacted at hartforddavis@banco.net.au.
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Abstract

The article analyses legal materials concerning the legal personality of the Commonwealth of Australia under domestic law. It argues that the Commonwealth as legal person has an existence, as a unit of the legal system, which is conceptually distinct from the Commonwealth of Australia as a nation, and the Commonwealth as federal government of that nation. Current idioms (eg ‘polity’ and ‘body politic’) have a tendency to confuse these distinctions. The article suggests, as a more appropriate way to denote the Commonwealth as legal person, the term ‘constitutional person’.

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Federal Law Review , Volume 47 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 3 - 30
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Copyright © 2019 The Author(s)

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Footnotes

This article is based on doctoral research undertaken with the support of the Menzies Foundation at the University of Oxford. The thesis was supervised by Professor Joshua Getzler, Professor of Law and History at the University of Oxford, whose guidance and support I gratefully acknowledge. I also record a debt to Dr Benjamin Spagnolo of Trinity College, Cambridge.

References

Notes

1. Frederick Pollock, A First Book of Jurisprudence for Students of the Common Law (Macmillan, 6th ed, 1929) 121.

2. See, eg, Municipal Council of Sydney v Commonwealth (1904) 1 CLR 208, 231 (Griffith CJ) (‘Municipal Council Case’); Commonwealth v Baume (1905) 2 CLR 405, 418 (O’Connor J); R v Sutton (1908) 5 CLR 789, 797 (Griffith CJ), 805 (O’Connor J), 813 (Isaacs J) (‘Wire Netting Case’); Commonwealth v Bogle (1953) 89 CLR 229, 259 (Fullagar J); South Australia v Commonwealth (1962) 108 CLR 130, 154 (Windeyer J) (‘Railway Standardisation Case’); Williams v Commonwealth (2012) 248 CLR 156, 184 [21] (French CJ), 237 [154] (Gummow and Bell JJ), 253–4 [204]–[205] (Hayne J) (‘Williams (No 1)’).

3. Melbourne Corporation v The Commonwealth (1947) 74 CLR 31, 83 (Dixon J).

4. Frederic W Maitland, The Constitutional History of England (Cambridge University Press, 1908) 418.

5. Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia v Queensland Rail (2015) 256 CLR 171, 181–2 [16] (French CJ, Hayne, Kiefel, Bell, Keane and Nettle JJ) (‘Queensland Rail’), quoting George Whitecross Paton, A Text-Book of Jurisprudence (Clarendon Press, 3rd ed, 1964) 351–2.

6. Plaintiff M68/2015 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (2016) 257 CLR 42, 90–2 [115]–[119] (‘M68’).

7. Ibid 91 [118].

8. JT International SA v Commonwealth (2012) 250 CLR 1, 33–4 [42] (French CJ), 72 [185] (Hayne and Bell JJ: Gummow J agreeing at 63 [150]), 99–100 [279] (Crennan J), 132 [369] (Kiefel J), cf 82–6 [217]–[231] (Heydon J dissenting) (‘Plain Packaging Case’).

9. See Explanatory Memorandum, Work Health and Safety Bill 2011 (Cth) 12 [49], citing Workplace Relations Ministers Council, ‘First Report of the National Review into Model Occupational Health and Safety Laws’ (Report, Workplace Relations Ministers Council, October 2008) 159–60 [15.4]–[15.7], which acknowledges that ‘government’ is different from ‘ordinary persons’ but concludes that it is ‘now widely accepted that the Crown should not be exempt from the operation of the offence provisions of OHS legislation’. Cf Australian Law Reform Commission, The Judicial Power of the Commonwealth, Report No 92, (2001) [22.46].

10. Cain v Doyle (1946) 72 CLR 409, 424, see also 418 (Latham CJ), 420 (Starke J), 431 (Williams J); Wolfgang Friedmann, ‘Public Welfare Offences, Statutory Duties, and the Legal Status of the Crown’ (1950) 13 Modern Law Review 24, 35, saying that Cain v Doyle underlined ‘the necessity of a more articulate theory of State in modern British law’. See generally, Malcolm Barrett, ‘Prosecuting the Crown’ (2002) 4 University of Notre Dame Australia Law Review 39.

11. See Queensland Rail (2015) 256 CLR 171, 181–2 [16] (French CJ, Hayne, Kiefel, Bell, Keane and Nettle JJ), 192–3 [53] (Gageler J).

12. See Re KL Tractors Ltd (1961) 106 CLR 318, 334–5 (Dixon CJ, McTiernan and Kitto JJ), rejecting the language of ‘power’ used by Aicken QC during argument: at 328; Re Residential Tenancies Tribunal of New South Wales and Henderson; Ex parte the Defence Housing Authority (1997) 190 CLR 410, 454 (McHugh J) (‘Ex parte Henderson’), defining ‘capacity’ as the ‘legal right or power to do or refrain to do something’.

13. See, eg, R v King (2003) 59 NSWLR 472, 486 [73] (Spigelman CJ).

14. Cf Minors (Property and Contracts) Act 1970 (NSW).

15. M68 (2016) 257 CLR 42, 98 [134]–[136] (Gageler J); see also Ex parte Henderson (1997) 190 CLR 410, 456 (McHugh J).

16. Re KL Tractors Ltd (1961) 106 CLR 318, 334–5 (Dixon CJ, McTiernan and Kitto JJ).

17. See, eg, Commonwealth v Anderson (1960) 105 CLR 303, 313 (Dixon CJ); A-G (NSW) v Stocks and Holdings (Constructors) Pty Ltd (1970) 124 CLR 262, 288 (Walsh J); Sydney Training Depot Snapper Island Ltd v Brown (1987) 14 ALD 464, 465 (Wilcox J), saying that issuing a notice to quit was the ‘exercise by the Commonwealth of a property right vested in it’; Clamback v Coombes (1986) 13 FCR 55, 64 (Evatt J), holding that the decision of an officer of the Department of Civil Aviation to erect a fence on land comprising the Bankstown Airport in Sydney was a decision ‘on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia to exercise its common law rights to fence its own land’.

18. Worthing v Rowell and Muston Pty Ltd (1970) 123 CLR 89, 127 (Windeyer J), saying that the Commonwealth could ‘accept a gift from a landowner by his deed or will of land’ and ‘could become by gift possessed of pictures or books for public use and enjoyment’.

19. See Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 252 [201] (Hayne J).

20. Queensland Rail (2015) 256 CLR 171, 182 [17] (French CJ, Hayne, Kiefel, Bell, Keane and Nettle JJ). By 2007, Professor Armour was able to record 17forms of legal person currently recognised by English law: John Armour, ‘Companies and Other Associations’ in Andrew Burrows (ed), English Private Law (Oxford University Press, 2nd ed, 2007) 152 [3.07].

21. National Union of General and Municipal Workers v Gillian [1946] 1 KB 81, 85 (Scott LJ); cited with approval in Chaff and Hay Acquisition Committee v JA Hemphill and Sons Pty Ltd (1947) 74 CLR 375, 391 (McTiernan J) (‘Chaff and Hay Acquisition Committee Case’). See also P J Fitzgerald, Salmond on Jurisprudence (Sweet & Maxwell, 12th ed, 1966) 308. The 12th edition reproduces with very few changes Sir John’s Salmond’s original text and was described as ‘illuminating’ by the Court of Appeal in Bumper Development Corporation v Commissioner of Police of Metropolis [1991] 1 WLR 1362, 1371 [H] (Purchas LJ) (CA).

22. See Taff Vale Railway Co v Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants [1901] AC 426 (‘Taff Vale Case’); Chaff and Hay Acquisition Committee Case (1947) 74 CLR 375, 384–6 (Latham CJ), 390 (Starke J), 396–7 (Williams J); Church of Scientology v Woodward (1982) 154 CLR 25, 56 (Mason J).

23. Queensland Rail (2015) 256 CLR 171, 188 [38], 189 [40] (French CJ, Hayne, Kiefel, Bell, Keane and Nettle JJ).

24. Ibid 192 [49].

25. Ibid 192–3 [53] (Gageler J).

26. Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 (Cth) s 136, cited in Williams v Hursey (1959) 103 CLR 30, 52.

27. See, eg, Re McJannet; Ex parte Minister for Employment, Training and Industrial Relations (Q) (1995) 184 CLR 620, 660–1 (Toohey, McHugh and Gummow JJ) (‘McJannet’); Queensland Rail (2015) 256 CLR 171, 187–8 [36] (French CJ, Hayne, Kiefel, Bell, Keane and Nettle JJ), 192–3 [53] (Gageler J). See also Frizziero v Rice (1992) 110 ALR 549, 562 (Gray J).

28. Williams v Hursey (1959) 103 CLR 30, 52 (Fullagar J: Dixon CJ agreeing at 45, Kitto J at 86, Taylor J at 108).

29. The language of ‘units’ was explained by Harold A J Ford, Unincorporated Non-Profit Associations (Clarendon Press, 1959) xx–xxi, quoted in McJannet (1995) 184 CLR 620, 659–60 (Toohey, McHugh and Gummow JJ). See also Frederic W Maitland, ‘Moral Personality and Legal Personality’ in David Runciman and Magnus Ryan (eds), Maitland: State, Trust and Corporation (Cambridge University Press, 2003) 63.

30. Cf Queensland Rail (2015) 256 CLR 171, 192–3 [53] (Gageler J).

31. Darling v Mayor, etc of New York (1865) 31 NY 164, 197 (NYCA), quoted in Harold J Laski, ‘The Personality of Associations’ (1916) 29 Harvard Law Review 404, 406.

32. Northside Developments Pty Ltd v Registrar-General (1990) 170 CLR 146, 171 (Brennan J).

33. Cf Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 257–8 [214] (Hayne J), quoting Clough v Leahy (1904) 2 CLR 139, 157, 161 (Griffith CJ).

34. See Ex parte Henderson (1997) 190 CLR 410, 502 (Kirby J), acknowledging the ‘reality’ that ‘for practical reasons’ the Commonwealth must ‘operate through…servants, agents and emanations’.

35. Geoffrey Sawer, ‘Government as Personalized Legal Entity’ in Leicester C Webb (ed), Legal Personality and Political Pluralism (Melbourne University Press, 1958) 158, 168.

36. Commonwealth v Miller (1910) 10 CLR 742, 753 (O’Connor J), 758 (Higgins J).

37. Sydney Training Depot Snapper Island Ltd v Brown (1987) 14 ALD 464 (FCA).

38. See, eg, Clamback v Coombes (1986) 13 FCR 55, 64 (Evatt J). See above n 17.

39. See, eg, Johnson v Kent (1975) 132 CLR 164.

40. See, eg, Kidman v Commonwealth (1925) 37 CLR 233, 240 (Knox CJ), regarding the ability of the Attorney-General to bind the Commonwealth to arbitration agreements; Commonwealth v Mewett (1997) 191 CLR 471, 498 (Dawson J) (‘Mewett’), saying that suits against the Commonwealth in negligence or for breach of contract will have been brought in respect of things done ‘by executive act’.

41. See, eg, Robin Creyke, John McMillan and Mark Smyth, Control of Government Action (LexisNexis, 4th ed, 2015) 998–1000.

42. Attorney-General v Lindegren (1819) 6 Price 287, 308; 146 ER 811, 818 (Richards LCB).

43. New South Wales v Bardolph (1934) 52 CLR 455, 495 (Rich J), 503 (Starke J), 508 (Dixon J), 517–18 (McTiernan J) (‘Bardolph’).

44. Ibid 518.

45. Cf Western Australia v Watson [1990] WAR 248, 266 (Malcolm CJ, Brinsden and Seaman JJ), quoting P W Hogg, Liability of the Crown in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom (Lawbook Co, 1972) 9, and saying that the application of the analogy in any particular case must be treated with caution.

46. Cf Companies Act 2006 (UK), ss 43, 44, distinguishing between contracts made by a company and contracts made on behalf of a company by a person acting under authority. These provisions replaced the Companies Act 1985 (UK), s 36(a).

47. Coogee Esplanade Surf Motel Pty Ltd v Commonwealth (1976) 50 ALR 363, 379 (Hutley JA), 364 (Moffitt P: Glass JA agreeing at 382) (‘Coogee Surf Motel v The Commonwealth’).

48. Ibid 383 (Glass JA).

49. HMS Truculent. The Admiralty v The Divina (Owners) [1951] 2 All ER 968, 979 (Willmer J).

50. Western Australia [1990] WAR 248.

51. Ibid 270 (Malcolm CJ, Brinsden and Seaman JJ).

52. Zentai v O’Connor (No 3) (2010) 187 FCR 495, 587 [353] (McKerracher J); Danthanarayana v Commonwealth of Australia [2014] FCA 552 (28 May 2014) [111]–[112] (Foster J) (‘Danthanarayana’).

53. Lennard’s Carrying Co Ltd v Asiatic Petroleum Co Ltd [1915] AC 705, 713 (Viscount Haldane LC).

54. Danthanarayana [2014] FCA 552 (28 May 2014) [112] (Foster J).

55. See generally R D Lumb, ‘“The Commonwealth of Australia” — Constitutional Implications’ (1979) 10 Federal Law Review 287.

56. See, eg, Plain Packaging Case (2012) 250 CLR 1, 72 [185] (Hayne and Bell JJ: French CJ agreeing at 33–4 [42], Gummow J at 63 [150]); Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Ex parte Goldie (2004) 217 CLR 264, 271 [23] (Gummow J); Kruger v Commonwealth (1997) 190 CLR 1, 56 (Dawson J); Mewett (1997) 191 CLR 471, 498 (Dawson J). See also Geoffrey Sawer, Australian Federalism in the Courts (Melbourne University Press, 1967) 123–4; William Harrison Moore, The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia (Sweet and Maxwell, 2nd ed, 1910) 73.

57. R v Sharkey (1949) 79 CLR 121, 153 (Dixon J).

58. New South Wales v Commonwealth (1975) 135 CLR 337, 373 (Barwick CJ). There is academic and judicial debate as to when Australia obtained international legal personality. This article assumes that it is valid to distinguish international legal personality from domestic legal personality, as to which see W W Willoughby, ‘The Juristic Conception of the State’ (1918) 12 American Political Science Review 192, 208, explaining why what is there called the ‘constitutional state’ must be different from the ‘state’ in international law.

59. Constitution preamble.

60. Commonwealth v Kreglinger & Fernau Ltd and Bardsley (1926) 37 CLR 393, 413 (Isaacs J).

61. See, eg, Nationwide News Pty Ltd v Wills (1992) 177 CLR 1, 69–70 (Deane and Toohey JJ); McCloy v New South Wales (2015) 257 CLR 178, 224 [106] (Gageler J).

62. See Andrew Vincent, Theories of the State (Basil Blackwell, 1987) 26–9.

63. Davis v Commonwealth (1988) 166 CLR 79, 110.

64. Thomas v Mowbray (2007) 233 CLR 307, 338 [45], 362 [142].

65. Ryder v Foley (1906) 4 CLR 422, 433 (Griffith CJ).

66. Vincent, above n 62, 30.

67. Sue v Hill (1999) 199 CLR 462, 499 [87] (Gleeson CJ, Gummow and Hayne JJ), quoted in Plain Packaging Case (2012) 250 CLR 1, 72 [186] (Hayne and Bell JJ).

68. Burns v Ransley (1949) 79 CLR 101, 115 (Dixon J).

69. See Enever v The King (1906) 3 CLR 969, 989 (O’Connor J).

70. See John Quick and Robert Randolph Garran, The Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth (Angus and Robertson, 1901) 366, saying: ‘The Commonwealth is not in any way defined or explained by the Constitution itself; that deals only with the governing organization of the Commonwealth’. See also James v Commonwealth (1939) 62 CLR 339, 362 (Dixon J), where it was said that the Constitution is ‘concerned with the powers and functions of government and the restraints upon their exercise’, quoted in Kruger v Commonwealth (1997) 190 CLR 1, 46 (Brennan CJ).

71. For chartered companies, eg: ‘one body corporate and politic by the name of — and by that name shall and may sue or be sued plead and be impleaded in all courts whether of law or equity…and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal’: see Paul L Davies, Gower and Davies’ Principles of Modern Company Law (Sweet & Maxwell, 8th ed, 2008) 80.

72. See especially Frederic W Maitland, ‘The Corporation Sole’ (1900) 16 Law Quarterly Review 335; Frederic W Maitland, ‘The Crown as Corporation’ (1901) 17 Law Quarterly Review 131. The publishing history is given in David Runciman and Magnus Ryan (eds), Maitland: State, Trust and Corporation (Cambridge University Press, 2003) from xxxiv.

73. Frederic W Maitland, ‘The Corporation Sole’ in David Runciman and Magnus Ryan (eds), Maitland: State, Trust and Corporation (Cambridge University Press, 2003) 30.

74. Frederic W Maitland, ‘The Crown as Corporation’ in David Runciman and Magnus Ryan (eds), Maitland: State, Trust and Corporation (Cambridge University Press, 2003) 41. In English law, the question whether the ‘Crown’ is a corporation sole or aggregate remains unresolved: see Halsbury’s Laws (4th ed reissue, 1996) vol 8(2), [15]; M v Home Office [1994] 1 AC 377, 424 [F] (Lord Woolf).

75. See W Harrison Moore, ‘The Crown as Corporation’ (1904) 20 Law Quarterly Review 351; W Harrison Moore, ‘Law and Government’ (1906) 3 Commonwealth Law Review 205; W Harrison Moore, ‘Law and Government’ (1906) 4 Commonwealth Law Review 49; W Harrison Moore, ‘Liability for Acts of Public Servants’ (1907) 23 Law Quarterly Review 12.

76. See also Pitt Cobbett, ‘“The Crown” as Representing “the State”’ (1904) 1 Commonwealth Law Review 23; Pitt Cobbett ‘The Crown as Representing the State’ (1904) 1 Commonwealth Law Review 145.

77. Municipal Council Case (1904) 1 CLR 208, 231 (Griffith CJ).

78. Minister for Works (WA) v Gulson (1944) 69 CLR 338, 357 (Rich J).

79. Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd (1920) 28 CLR 129, 152 (Knox CJ, Isaacs, Rich and Starke JJ) (‘Engineers’ Case’). Cf Nolan v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1988) 165 CLR 178, 185–6 (Mason CJ, Wilson, Brennan, Deane, Dawson and Toohey JJ), pointing to factors that would subsequently undermine the validity of this conclusion. The development of the Commonwealth as an association of independent nations involved an implicit acceptance of the divisibility of the ‘Crown’. See also Halsbury’s Laws (5th ed, 2009) vol 13 [717], saying: ‘[i]n fundamental respects, there are as many Crowns as there are independent realms’; also Sue v Hill (1999) 199 CLR 462, 490 [59] (Gleeson CJ, Gummow and Hayne JJ) referring to the impact in this connection of the Australia Act 1986 (Cth).

80. Engineers’ Case (1920) 28 CLR 129, 146–7 (Knox CJ, Isaacs, Rich and Starke JJ) (emphasis added).

81. J G Latham, Australia and the British Commonwealth (Macmillan, 1929) 28 (emphasis added).

82. Minister for Works (WA) v Gulson (1944) 69 CLR 338, 350 (Latham CJ) (emphasis added).

83. Kenneth Roberts-Wray, Commonwealth and Colonial Law (Stevens & Sons, 1966) 85. For background to the Balfour Declaration, see H Duncan Hall, ‘The Genesis of the Balfour Declaration of 1926’ (1962) 1 Journal of Political Studies 169. See generally, George Winterton, ‘The Evolution of a Separate Australian Crown’ (1993) 19 Monash University Law Review 1.

84. See, eg, Nolan v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1988) 165 CLR 178, 184–6.

85. Namely, Crouch v Commissioner of Railways (Qld) (1985) 159 CLR 22 (‘Crouch’); Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v State Bank of New South Wales (1992) 174 CLR 219 (‘State Bank of New South Wales Case’); State Authorities Superannuation Board v Commissioner of State Taxation (WA) (1996) 189 CLR 253 (‘State Superannuation Case’).

86. See especially the immunity from suit: Mewett (1997) 191 CLR 471.

87. See Crouch (1985) 159 CLR 22, 28–9 (Gibbs CJ), 39 (Mason, Wilson, Brennan, Deane and Dawson JJ); State Bank of New South Wales Case (1992) 174 CLR 219, 230 (Mason CJ, Brennan, Deane, Dawson, Toohey, Gaudron and McHugh JJ); State Superannuation Case (1996) 189 CLR 253, 282–3 (McHugh and Gummow JJ); Mewett (1997) 191 CLR 471, 497 (Dawson J), 546 (Gummow and Kirby JJ).

88. Cf State Bank of New South Wales Case (1992) 174 CLR 219, 230 (Mason CJ, Brennan, Deane, Dawson, Toohey, Gaudron and McHugh JJ).

89 Bank of New South Wales v Commonwealth (1948) 76 CLR 1, 362–3 (‘Bank Nationalisation Case’) (emphasis added). It may be convenient, since older judgments of the Commonwealth Law Reports do not contain paragraph numbers or alphabetically ordered margins, to note that passage commonly extracted begins with the words ‘The Constitution sweeps aside’, and ends with the words ‘responsibility of enforcing the Constitution rests’ (emphasis added).

90. Ibid 362.

91. Ibid 363.

92. Commonwealth v Silverton Ltd (1997) 130 ACTR 1 (ACTSC) 13–18 (Higgins J); Ex parte Workers’ Compensation Board of Queensland [1983] 1 Qd R 450 (QSC).

93. Launceston Corporation v The Hydro-Electric Commission (1959) 100 CLR 654, 660 (Dixon CJ, Fullagar, Menzies and Windeyer JJ).

94. State of New South Wales v Public Transport Ticketing Corporation [2011] NSWCA 60 (23 March 2011) [30].

95. Babcock International Ltd v Babcock Australia Ltd (2003) 56 NSWLR 51.

96. Electricity Commission Act 1950 (NSW), s 6(1): The Commission ‘shall be a body corporate’.

97. Babcock International Ltd v Babcock Australia Ltd (2003) 56 NSWLR 51, 61 [107] (Ipp JA: Heydon and Sheller JA agreeing).

98. State Bank of New South Wales Case (1992) 174 CLR 219. The question was whether an assessment of sales tax on printed material, manufactured by the Bank of New South Wales, amounted to a tax on the State of New South Wales.

99. Ibid 229 (emphasis added).

100. Ibid 230.

101. State Superannuation Case (1996) 189 CLR 253.

102. Ibid 282.

103. An allusion to Minister for Works (WA) v Gulson (1944) 69 CLR 338, 350 (Latham CJ).

104. State Superannuation Case (1996) 189 CLR 253, 289–90.

105. Ibid 291.

106. Mewett (1997) 191 CLR 471.

107. Ibid 476–7 (Griffith QC) (during argument).

108. Ibid 486 (Gyles QC) (during argument).

109. Ibid 491 (Brennan CJ), 531 (Gaudron J), 546 (Gummow and Kirby JJ).

110. Ibid 546.

111. Ibid.

112. Ibid.

113. Ibid 547–9 (Gummow and Kirby JJ).

114. Ibid 548–9 (Gummow and Kirby JJ).

115. Commonwealth v Western Australia (1999) 196 CLR 392 (‘Mining Act Case’).

116. Ibid 429–30 [105]–[106].

117. Ibid 431 [109] (Gummow J).

118. Sue v Hill (1999) 199 CLR 462.

119. Cf Mining Act Case (1999) 196 CLR 392, 429–30 [105]–[106].

120. Sue v Hill (1999) 199 CLR 462, 498 [84].

121 Ibid 501 [90] (Gleeson CJ, Gummow and Hayne JJ).

122 Ibid.

123 Ibid.

124 Ibid 502 [91].

125. Ibid 525–6 [165].

126. Australian Consumer and Competition Commission v Baxter Healthcare Pty Ltd (2007) 232 CLR 1 (‘Baxter Healthcare’).

127. Ibid 43 [88].

128. Ibid 46 [95] (Kirby J).

129 Ibid 56 [134].

130. Byrne v Ireland [1972] 1 IR 241 (IESC).

131. Ibid 272 (Walsh J).

132. Ibid 274.

133. Geoffrey Sawer, Australian Federalism in the Courts (Melbourne University Press, 1967) 123, saying that the ‘Founders were so uncertain about, or rather uninterested in, such questions that they even left their usage of the words “Commonwealth” and “States” in an ambiguous position’.

134. Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 191–2 [35] (French CJ), 236 [150] (Gummow and Bell JJ), 244 [180] (Hayne J), 344–5 [489] (Crennan J), 368 [576] (Kiefel J).

135. Ibid 186–7 [26]–[27], 191–3 [35]–[38] (French CJ), 236–9 [150]–[159] (Gummow and Bell JJ), 270–1 [251]–[253] (Hayne J), 343–4 [488], 355 [534] (Crennan J), 373–4 [595] (Kiefel J).

136. Ibid 184–5 [22].

137. Ibid 216–17 [83].

138. Ibid 184 [21] (emphasis added).

139. Ibid 184 [21].

140. Ibid 193 [38] (French CJ).

141. Ibid.

142. Ibid.

143. Ibid 342 [484].

144. Ibid 349–52 [508]–[520]. The same point was made in two different ways: first, the CRF is distinguishable from the funds of ‘non-governmental juristic persons’; and second, unlike ‘private parties’, the CRF may not be appropriated otherwise than for ‘purposes of the Commonwealth’.

145. Ibid 352 [521].

146. Ibid 353 [522].

147. Ibid 237 [154].

148. Ibid 237 [156], citing Gummow and Bell JJ: 227–8 [122]–[124], in which may be found a reference at footnote 270 to Ling v Commonwealth (1994) 51 FCR 88 (FCAFC) 92–4 (Gummow, Lee and Hill JJ), where the prerogative right to grant or receive a chose in action by assignment was discussed.

149. Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 237 [154] (citation omitted).

150. Ibid 236 [151], citing Australian Woollen Mills Pty Ltd v Commonwealth (1954) 92 CLR 424, 461 (Dixon CJ, Williams, Webb, Fullagar and Kitto JJ).

151. Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 236 [151], quoting Commonwealth v John Fairfax & Sons Ltd (1980) 147 CLR 39, 51 (Mason J), the discussion of the considerations governing the protection by equitable injunction of the information of government. One example of what is to be seen through these ‘spectacles’ is the debate about the extent to which a Commonwealth contract could ‘fetter executive action in a matter of public interest’. Their Honours referred to the other examples given in the judgment of Crennan J.

152. Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 252 [201].

153. Ibid 253 [203], 259 [217].

154. Ibid 253–4 [204].

155. Ibid 254 [205].

156. Ibid 254 [206] (Hayne J).

157. Ibid 258–9 [216] (Hayne J).

158. Williams v Commonwealth (No 2) (2014) 252 CLR 416, 456 [35] (French CJ, Hayne, Kiefel, Bell and Keane JJ) (‘Williams (No 2)’).

159. Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 295 [340], 319 [403].

160. Davis v Commonwealth (1988) 166 CLR 79, 108.

161. Pape (2009) 238 CLR 1, 60 [126] (French CJ), 83 [214] (Gummow, Crennan and Bell JJ).

162. Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 320 [405] (Heydon J).

163. Ibid 368–9 [577].

164. Ibid 373–4 [595].

165. Ibid 368–9 [577].

166. Ibid 373–4 [595].

167. Ibid 373 [594].

168. Williams (No 2) (2014) 252 CLR 416.

169. Cf Williams (No 2) (2014) 252 CLR 416, 455 [25] (French CJ, Hayne, Kiefel, Bell and Keane JJ).

170. Examples of contracts falling within the ‘depth’ dimension of s 61 are: the wartime contract for the construction of cargo barquentines in Kidman v Commonwealth (1925) 37 CLR 233 (appealed in Kidman v Commonwealth (1925) 32 ALR 1) and the contracts made in the administration of departments under s 64, as to which see Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 211–12 [74] (French CJ), citing Bardolph (1934) 52 CLR 455, 496 (Rich J), 502–3 (Starke J), 508 (Dixon J).

171. Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 210 [71] (French CJ), 222 [103] (Gummow and Bell JJ), 273 [260] (Hayne J), 358–9 [545]–[547] (Crennan J), 374 [596] (Kiefel J). See also, Williams (No 2) (2014) 252 CLR 416, 454 [24] (French CJ, Hayne, Kiefel, Bell and Keane JJ).

172. Cf Meridian Global Funds Management Asia Ltd v Securities Commission [1995] 2 AC 500 (PC), 506 (Lord Hoffmann).

173. David J Seipp ‘Formalism and Realism in Fifteenth-Century English Law: Bodies Corporate and Bodies Natural’ in Paul Brand and Joshua Getzler (eds), Judges and Judging in the History of the Common Law and Civil Law (Cambridge University Press, 2012) 39.

174. See, eg, British American Tobacco Australia Ltd v Western Australia (2003) 217 CLR 30, 83 [143] (Kirby J). This term was also used, with different inflections, in Spratt v Hermes (1965) 114 CLR 226, 246–7 (Barwick CJ); Pyneboard Pty Ltd v Trade Practices Commission (1983) 152 CLR 328, 346 (Murphy J); R v Burgess; Ex parte Henry (1936) 55 CLR 608, 643–4 (Latham CJ); Bank of New South Wales v The Commonwealth (1948) 76 CLR 1, 363 (Dixon J) (‘Bank Nationalisation Case’).

175. See, eg, Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd v Victoria (2002) 211 CLR 1, 49 [100] (Kirby J).

176. A-G (Vic) v The Commonwealth (1945) 71 CLR 237, 256 (Latham CJ) (‘Pharmaceutical Benefits Case’).

177. White v South Australia (2007) 96 SASR 581, 589 [26] (Doyle CJ).

178. Maitland said of the King’s ‘body politic’ that ‘we can say little; but it is “politic,” whatever “politic” may mean’: Maitland above n 29, 36.

179. This tendency to personalise or bodify the nation or the government, to speak of as an abstract but organic entity, is thought by political scientists and intellectual historians to reach back to the 16th century: see, eg, Vincent, above n 62, 75; Quentin Skinner, ‘From the state of princes to the person of the state’ in Quentin Skinner, Visions of Politics Volume II Renaissance Values (Cambridge University Press, 2002) 368.

180. Re Patterson; Ex parte Taylor (2001) 207 CLR 391, 409–10 [41] (Gaudron J); Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Ex parte Meng Kok Te (2002) 212 CLR 162, 179 [54]–[55], 180–1 [58]–[59] (Gaudron J), 187 [86], 188–9 [89]–[90] (McHugh J), 211 [181] (Kirby J), 227 [223] (Callinan J).

181. Nolan v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1988) 165 CLR 178, 189 (Gaudron J); Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Ex parte Meng Kok Te (2002) 212 CLR 162, 175 [38]–[39] (Gleeson CJ).

182. Geographical area was described as an ‘aspect’ of the body politic in Kirmani v Captain Cook Cruises Pty Ltd (No 1) (1985) 159 CLR 351, 448 (Dawson J).

183. The franchise reflects ‘membership’ of the body politic: Roach v Electoral Commissioner (2007) 233 CLR 162, 198–9 [83] (Gummow, Kirby and Crennan JJ); Rowe v Electoral Commissioner (2010) 243 CLR 1, 47–8 [120] (Gummow and Bell JJ).

184. New South Wales v Commonwealth (2006) 229 CLR 1, 119–20 [194] (Gleeson CJ, Gummow, Hayne, Heydon and Crennan JJ) (‘Work Choices Case’).

185. Brown v The Queen (1986) 160 CLR 171, 190 (Wilson J).

186. Thomas (2007) 233 CLR 307, 362 [142].

187. Ibid 338 [45], 362 [142].

188. Ibid 362 [142] (emphasis added).

189. Cross v Barnes Towing and Salvage (Qld) Pty Ltd (2005) 232 ALR 209, 219 [35] (Spigelman CJ) (emphasis added).

190. O’Donoghue v Ireland (2008) 234 CLR 599, 631 [87] (Kirby J) (emphasis added).

191. British American Tobacco Australia Ltd v Western Australia (2003) 217 CLR 30, 73–4 [113] (Kirby J).

192. XYZ v Commonwealth (2006) 227 CLR 532, 574 n 218 (Kirby J).

193. Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd v Victoria (2002) 211 CLR 1, 49–50 [102].

194. Sue v Hill (1999) 199 CLR 462, 498 [84].

195. Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 237 [154] (Gummow and Bell JJ).

196. Sue v Hill (1999) 199 CLR 462, 498 [84].

197. Ibid 498 [84] (Gleeson CJ, Gummow and Hayne JJ); see also Mining Act Case (1999) 196 CLR 392, 428–9 [102] (Gummow J).

198. Re Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Ex parte Lam (2003) 214 CLR 1 (‘Lam’).

199. Ibid 24–5 [74]–[76].

200. Re Governor Goulburn Correctional Centre; Ex parte Eastman (1999) 200 CLR 322, 344 [50]–[51] (‘Eastman’s Case’).

201. Spratt v Hermes (1965) 114 CLR 226.

202. Ibid 247.

203. Eastman’s Case (1999) 200 CLR 322, 344 [50].

204. Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 237 [154].

205. David M Walker, ‘The Legal Theory of the State’ (1953) 65 Juridical Review 255, 288.

206. Ibid 362 [142] (emphasis added).

207. See, eg, Salomon v Salomon & Co Ltd [1897] AC 22, 42 (Lord Herschell); Chaff and Hay Acquisition Committee Case (1947) 74 CLR 375, 385 (Latham CJ); ABC v Lenah Game Meats Pty Ltd (2001) 208 CLR 199, 256 [126] (Gummow and Hayne JJ).

208. Engineers’ Case (1920) 28 CLR 129, 174.

209. West v Commissioner of Taxation (NSW) (1937) 56 CLR 657, 698 (Evatt J) (‘West’).

210. Burns v Ransley (1949) 79 CLR 101 (‘Burns’).

211. Ibid 115.

212. Lamshed v Lake (1958) 99 CLR 132, 141–2.

213. Austin v Commonwealth (2003) 215 CLR 185, 302 [284] (Kirby J).

214. Queensland v Commonwealth (1977) 139 CLR 585 (‘Second Territory Senators Case’).

215. Ibid 615 (emphasis added).

216. Cf Thomas v Mowbray (2007) 233 CLR 307, 338 [45], 362 [142] (Gummow and Crennan JJ).

217. Ibid 395–6 [252] referring to protection of ‘the bodies politic of the Commonwealth and the States’, 400 [262] referring to the protection of ‘Australian units of government, as such’ and 411 [296] referring to the defence of the ‘Commonwealth and State polities’.

218. Ibid 393 [245].

219. Queensland Rail (2015) 256 CLR 171, 178 [2].

220. Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 184 [21] (emphasis added).

221. Ibid (emphasis added).

222. Ibid 241 [173] (emphasis added).

223. Ibid 254 [205] (emphasis added).

224. Ibid 259 [217] (emphasis added), see also 254 [207].

225. Local Government Authorities are legal persons invested directly with statutory powers, including, eg, the power to order a person to demolish a building: Local Government Act 1993 (NSW), s 220(1) (Council is a ‘body politic’ with the capacities of an individual), and s 124 (Council may make various ‘orders’).

226. Sir William Holdsworth, A History of English Law (Sweet and Maxwell, 5th impression, 2003) vol IX, 6–7; G L Haggen ‘The Function of the Crown’ (1925) 41 Law Quarterly Review 182; A v Head Teacher and Governors of Lord Grey School [2004] 4 All ER 628 (CA) 631 [3] (Sedley LJ) ‘the law of England and Wales does not know the state as a legal entity’; Martin Loughlin, The British Constitution: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2013) 82.

227. Colin Turpin and Adam Tompkins, British Government and the Constitution: Texts and Materials (Cambridge University Press, 7th ed, 2011) 10–11.

228. John L Proprietary Ltd v A-G (NSW) (1987) 163 CLR 508, 518 .

229. Janet McLean, Searching for the State in British Legal Thought (Cambridge University Press, 2012) 310.

230. A number of the Australian Interpretation Acts contain a general definition of the word ‘person’ as including a ‘body corporate or politic’: Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) s 21; Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) s 2C; Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic) s 38; Acts Interpretation Act 1954 (Qld) s 36 and schedule 1 (‘person’ and ‘corporation’); Interpretation Act 1978 (NT) s 24AA.

231. The Case of the Master and Fellows of Magdalen College in Cambridge (1615) 77 ER 1235, 1240 (‘Magdalen College Case’).

232. A-G (Ontario) v A-G (Dominion) (1896) AC 348, 361 (Lord Watson).

233. Melbourne Harbour Trust Commissioners v Colonial Sugar Refining Co Ltd (1925) 36 CLR 230, 279.

234. R v Inhabitants of Barton (1840) 113 ER 446; Clarke v Tweed District Ambulance Committee [1965] AR (NSW) 8; Bristol v Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission [1975] 2 NSWLR 643, 648D (Waddell J).

235. Hoxton Park Residents Action Group Inc v Liverpool City Council (No 2) (2016) 310 FLR 193, 206 [50].

236. Commonwealth v Baume (1905) 2 CLR 405.

237. Ibid 413.

238. Ibid 418.

239. R v Brewer (1942) 66 CLR 535, 550 (Latham CJ and McTiernan J).

240. Queensland Rail (2015) 256 CLR 171, 178 [2].

241. Geoffrey Sawer, ‘State Statutes and the Commonwealth’ (1963) 1 Tasmania University Law Review 580, 585.

242. Cf Loughlin, above n 226, 37.

243. John L Proprietary Ltd v A-G (NSW) (1987) 163 CLR 508, 518 (Mason CJ, Deane and Dawson JJ).

244. Cf Sloman v The Governor and Government of New Zealand (1876) 1 CPD 563, 565–6 (James LJ); Williams (No 1) (2012) 248 CLR 156, 184 [21] (French CJ), 237 [154] (Gummow and Bell JJ); Geoffrey Sawer, above n 35, 166; Geoffrey Sawer, above n 56, 123–4.