Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth information
Judgment of the High Court of Australia
Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth
Court
High Court of Australia
Full case name
Australian Communist Party v The Commonwealth
Decided
9 March 1951
Citation(s)
[1951] HCA 5, (1951) 83 CLR 1
Court membership
Judges sitting
Latham CJ, Dixon, McTiernan, Williams, Webb, Fullagar, and Kitto JJ
Case opinions
The Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950 (Cth) is beyond the power of the Parliament and is invalid. It is not supported by the express incidental power read with the executive power of the Constitution or under an implied nationhood power. The Act does not prescribe any rule of conduct or prohibit specific acts or omissions by way of attack or subversion, but deal directly with bodies and persons named and described. "The stream cannot rise above the source", or, "The Parliament cannot recite itself into power" the Parliament itself purports to determine, or empower the Executive to determine, the very facts upon which the existence of the power depends.
Majority
Dixon, McTiernan, Williams, Webb, Fullagar, and Kitto JJ
Dissent
Latham CJ
Australian Communist Party v The Commonwealth, also known as the Communist Party Case,[1] was a legal case in the High Court of Australia in 1951 in which the court declared the Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950 unconstitutional and invalid as being beyond the power of the Parliament. Notable Australian academic George Winterton described the case as "undoubtedly one of the High Court's most important decisions".[2]
^Australian Communist Party v The Commonwealth [1951] HCA 5, (1951) 83 CLR 1 (9 March 1951), High Court.
^Winterton, George. "The Significance of the Communist Party case"(PDF). (1992) 18 Melbourne University Law Review 630.
and 21 Related for: Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth information
in Australia which sought approval to alter the Australian Constitution to give Parliament the power to make laws regarding communism and communists, so...
The CommunistParty of Australia (CPA), known as the AustralianCommunistParty (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australiancommunistparty founded in 1920...
powers in history have been the (vi) defence power, (see: AustralianCommunistPartyvCommonwealth), the (xix) naturalisation and aliens power, the (xxxi)...
Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2017. See AustralianCommunistPartyvCommonwealth [1951] HCA...
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania...
The CommunistParty of Canada (French: Parti communiste du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada. Founded in 1921 under conditions of illegality...
changes without debate, Independent, 19 January 2016. See AustralianCommunistPartyvCommonwealth [1951] HCA 5, AustLII[permanent dead link] "Constituição...
The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia. The party is one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other...
Lansdowne Press. AUSTRALIA: Explosion – article about "The Split" in Time magazine, Monday, 25 Oct 1954 AustralianCommunistPartyvCommonwealth [1951] HCA...
The CommunistParty USA, officially the CommunistParty of the United States of America (CPUSA), also known as the American CommunistParty, is a communist...
The Malayan CommunistParty (MCP), officially the CommunistParty of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communistparty which was...
environment-oriented parties like the Australian Democrats and Greens. The manifesto announced: The AustralianCommonwealthParty is an entirely new political...
communist states have been subject to criticism across the political spectrum. Communistparty rule has been especially criticized by anti-communists...
United Labor Party (ULP) of South Australia candidates were elected to the South Australian Legislative Council. At the 1893 South Australian election the...
The Communist Alliance was registered on 16 March 2009 with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) as an Australian political party. It was an alliance...
The North Kalimantan CommunistParty (abbr. NKCP) was a Maoist communistparty based in the Malaysian state of Sarawak in northern Borneo. It was formally...
The United AustraliaParty (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections...
Global Information