October 2004
The Chief Justice of the Victorian Supreme Court, Her Honour Marilyn Warren, recently delivered the 12th annual Lucinda Lecture at Monash University.
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Before the lecture: Chief Justice of the Victorian Supreme Court Her Honour Marilyn Warren, former governor general Sir Zelman Cowen and Monash Law dean Professor Arie Freiberg in the Monash Law Library.
Photo: Melissa Di Ciero |
In this year's lecture, titled 'What Separation of Powers?', the Chief Justice stressed the importance of maintaining the separation of the three arms of government -- the legislature, which makes the laws; the executive, which enacts the laws; and the judiciary, which interprets them.
"In any British-based constitutional system, there will be a touchstone -- the doctrine of separation of (these) powers," she said. "The executive of the day of any modern government under such a system must acknowledge the role of the courts in their system, both in principle and in practice.
"Similarly, history informs us that as long as the system exists, the judiciary will not go away and, when necessary, will not be silent."
Chief Justice Warren, who is also a Monash Law alumna, delivered the lecture at the university's Clayton campus.
The Lucinda lecture series is named after a steam paddle vessel of the same name. The drafting committee of the National Australasian Convention made important revisions to the earliest drafts of the Constitution while cruising the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales aboard the Lucinda in March 1891.
The lectures, which canvass fundamental issues of Australian constitutional law, are hosted by the Law faculty and sponsored by former governor general The Right Honourable Sir Zelman Cowen, PC AK GCMG GCVO KStJ QC.
Robyn Anns
Contact:
www.law.monash.edu.au
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