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WAPolitics and LawQuick questions
Unit 3: Political and Legal Power
Quick questions on The Separation of Powers: WACE Year 12 Politics and Law
2short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the three branches in the Constitution?Show answer
The Constitution is organised to reflect the three branches. Chapter I vests legislative power in the Parliament, Chapter II vests executive power in the Crown (exercised through the Governor-General and ministers), and Chapter III vests judicial power in the High Court and other federal courts. On paper this looks like a clean three-way split modelled on Montesquieu's theory and the United States Constitution.
What is the strict separation of judicial power?Show answer
The one area where the High Court has insisted on a strict separation is judicial power. The Boilermakers' Case (R v Kirby; Ex parte Boilermakers' Society of Australia, 1956) established two rules. First, judicial power can only be vested in a Chapter III court. Second, a Chapter III court cannot be given non-judicial functions (except those incidental to judging).
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