John D McMillan

Re-Thinking the Separation of Powers

Constitutional theory and doctrine are important to our understanding and experience of government. No description of Australian government is complete without reference to representative democracy, responsible government, separation of powers and the rule of law. Those and other theories also have substantial practical impact. Courts refer to them in developing legal principle and deciding cases. Legislators are reminded of them in framing laws. They structure transactions between the different institutions of government. The community is also influenced by them in evaluating the performance of the institutions of government.