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On the 8th of November, the High Court of Australia delivered a landmark ruling that the indefinite detention regime under the Migration Act is unconstitutional, overruling the 2004 decision of Al-Kateb. The decision, both in form and substance, sent shockwaves through Australia's legal and political establishment. In adopting the relatively uncommon procedure of issuing orders immediately following the hearing (with reasons to follow), a gap was created where politicians rushed to come up with a legislative response in the absence of any clearly articulated constitutional rules. In an island country, where several elections in the last 20 years have been ostensibly won and lost over concerns of 'illegal' immigration, this decision has been political dynamite.

Part 1: Introduction -- Part 2: The Nature of the Judicial Function -- Part 3: The Judicial Decision-Making Method -- Part 4: Judicial Impartiality, Deviations and Threats to Judicial Method -- Part 5: Judicial Integrity and Accountability -- Part 6: Conclusions – The Idea of the Court