*** A VICTORY FOR DEMOCRACY ***

The High Court of Australia today rejected the Johnny Howard legislation allowing the establishment of Military Courts. This is a win for libertarians and a blow to those who prefer kangaroo courts to expedite the fundamental rules of Law. In lay terms our laws are there to protect  us and to also serve us. We entrust parliament to protect our laws and where necessary to legislate new laws. This High court decision invalidates all cases that have been heard by this jumped up mock court. What has been happening over the past decade is an erosion of the presumption of innocence principles, and a reversal of the burden of proof test.What that means is more often our laws are being re written in order to make prosecutions easier by making a person charged prove their innocence instead of the state proving beyond a REASONABLE doubt guilt. 

 The Australian legal system is based on a fundamental belief in the rule of law, justice and the independence of the judiciary. All people—Australians and non-Australians alike—are treated equally before the law and safeguards exist to ensure that people are not treated arbitrarily or unfairly by governments or officials.

Principles such as procedural fairness, judicial precedent and the separation of powers are fundamental to Australia’s legal system.

The common law system, as developed in the United Kingdom, forms the basis of Australian jurisprudence. It is distinct from the civil law. Other countries that employ variations of the common law system are the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia and India.

The chief feature of the common law system is that judges’ decisions in pending cases are informed by the decisions of previously settled cases.

The Australian Constitution of 1901 established a federal system of government, under which powers are distributed between the federal government and the states.  The states and territories have independent legislative power in all matters not specifically assigned to the federal government. Where there is any inconsistency between federal and state or territory laws, federal laws prevail. Federal laws apply to the whole of Australia.

All people—Australians and non-Australians alike—are treated equally before the law.

• The Australian legal system is based on the concept of the rule of law.
• In all cases, defendants are considered to be innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.
• Laws are made by the federal and state parliaments, while an independent judiciary interprets and applies them.
• People who cannot afford legal representation may be given legal aid, subject to a means test and certain other conditions.
• Independent Australian agencies safeguard legal and administrative rights.
• States should refrain from passing laws which are inconsistent with the principles of common law and justice.....

State Police forces are responsible for much or this convenience store justice. Through their management and their close association with government through their Police Ministers they have siezed on public opinion regarding tough justice. They now have more extrordinary powers of search, investigation and arrest then ever before, with most of this opportunism springing from community paranoia in regard to international terrorism.

This very unhealthy lurch to the right is easily open to abuse,as many citizens are now having to prove police charges are wrong instead of police having to prove  charges are correct . The High court decision today is very important for a healthy democracy in so far as realising a return to more conventional and accepted principles of dispensation of justice by the application of common law rule.

Our blind acceptance of weakened laws,convenience laws, and junk laws are like making a rod for our own backs. It is too easy to turn a blind eye to the dismantling of our rules of law. The High Court of Australia has come out today and endorsed those hard fought for and time honoured rules and thank God for all our sakes they have. Any government that tries to legislate mechanisms designed to side step procedural fairness and the accepted rules of law should be viewed as Anti Democratic and removed from office at the earliest opportunity.