Open AccessJudicial Activism and Constitutional (Mis) Interpretation
Author(s) -
Johnny M Sakr,
Augusto Zimmermann
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
university of queensland law journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1839-289X
pISSN - 0083-4041
DOI - 10.38127/uqlj.v40i1.5643
Subject(s) - commonwealth , judicial activism , law , constitution , interpretation (philosophy) , judicial interpretation , judicial review , doctrine , political science , separation of powers , project commissioning , politics , publishing , sociology , constitutional law , computer science , programming language
In this article, the authors explore the concept of judicial activism and its application in the Australian domestic cases of Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v Commonwealth and Love v Commonwealth, and in the US case of Obergefell v Hodges. The article highlights the devastating effects of judicial activism on legal interpretation, arguing that such activism compromises the doctrine of separation of powers and affects the realisation of the rule of law, resulting in a method ofinterpretation that incorporates personal biases and political opinion, thus ignoring the original intent of the framers of the Australian Constitution. Moreover, the article highlights that implementing a federal Bill of Rights might further exacerbate these ongoing problems concerning judicial activism in Australia.