2021 CCCS Conference - Keynote Address - Hon. Justice Michelle Gordon AC

Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies Constitutional Law Conference was held via Zoom on Friday 23 July 2021.

The Conference commenced with a keynote address by the Hon. Justice Michelle Gordon AC, who considered the themes and legacy of Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth (1951).

View the Keynote address recording

Other speakers included the Hon. Justice Andrew Bell (President, NSW Court of Appeal), Hon. Justice Melinda Richards (Supreme Court of Victoria), Dr Ruth Higgins SC (Banco Chambers), Timothy Goodwin (List A Barristers), Laureate Professor Emeritus Cheryl Saunders AO (Melbourne), Professor Rosalind Dixon (UNSW), Professor Kristen Rundle (Melbourne), and Professor Jason Varuhas (Melbourne).

These speakers addressed two key themes. The first theme was the rule of law. Speakers considered its place in the High Court's constitutional case law, Indigenous perspectives on the rule of law following Love v Commonwealth, and comparative lessons. The second theme was government, courts and the law after COVID-19. Speakers considered legal issues arising from hotel quarantine, legal regulation of the use of soft law, emergency powers, and the use of technology in court proceedings.

A final panel marked the career of the Hon. Justice Geoffrey Nettle AC with a panel featuring the Hon. Justice Kenneth Hayne AC (formerly High Court of Australia), Julian Murphy (Melbourne), Julia Wang (Dever's List) and Dr Scott Stephenson (Melbourne).