Law Council of Australia Immigration Law Conference 2024 – Opening

A battle in which the Judiciary seeks to maintain the Rule of Law, human rights in accordance with international standards, procedural fairness and appropriate levels of access to judicial review of legislative and executive action, consistent with a democracy underpinned by the separation of powers between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial arms of government. [...] But a greater cause of tension is the desire of the Executive to exercise control over migration matters to the exclusion of the courts. [...] Law Council of Australia Immigration Law Conference 2024 – Opening Remarks Page 2 In 2001 the government persuaded the Parliament to introduce further changes into the law to restrict the jurisdiction of the federal courts in migration matters. [...] The 2023 Citizenship Amendment engages and limits multiple human rights including criminal process rights, the right to equality and non-discrimination, the rights of the child, and the rights to freedom of movement, protection of the family, and liberty. [...] Stripping citizenship at the time of sentencing is antithetical to our criminal justice system which is based upon not only punishment and retribution but the encouragement of rehabilitation for the benefit not only of the offender but of the community.