Bond v Commonwealth

Bond v Commonwealth
Court High Court of Australia
Full case name Bond v The Commonwealth of Australia
Decided 19 November 1903
Citation(s) (1903) 1 CLR 13
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting Griffith, CJ

Bond v Commonwealth (1903) was an early Australian legal case heard before the High Court of Australia that established that rights under the Australian constitution were over-riding over those under Commonwealth legislation.[1][2] The case was the second case heard by the High Court of Australia.

Facts of the Case

The High Court who heard the case. Photo taken at the first sitting of the court on 6 October 1903 shows Barton, Griffith & O'Connor seated, with court officials in the background.

Mr. Bond had been an employee of the Post and Telegraph Department of the State of Victoria, before it was transferred to the Commonwealth postal service on 1 March 1901, soon after federation, in accordance with Section 69 of the Australian Constitution.[3] Following the transfer, the Commonwealth paid Bond wages at the rate of £132 per annum instead of his previous wage of £150, and sued for the balance, under section 84 of the Constitution,[4] which guaranteed commensurate wages for employees transferred to Commonwealth jurisdiction.

The Commonwealth argued that the claim was not enforceable in a Court of law by virtue of sec. 78(1) of the Public Service Act 1902, which came into effect on 1 January 1903, and provided:

"Nothing in this Act shall authorize the expenditure of any greater sum out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund by way of payment of any salary than is from time to time appropriated by the Parliament for that purpose"…[1][5]

Judgment

Chief Justice Griffith, held that the Constitution did grant rights, which in Bond's case was a right to continued employment and receive equivalent wages. Regarding the Commonwealth’s case – the Court held that in the face of Bond's constitutional right, whether sec. 78(1) of the Public Service Act was or was not defensible in a court became irrelevant and the judgment ruled it unnecessary to consider the question altogether.

References

  1. 1 2 Bond v Commonwealth (1903) 1 CLR 13
  2. ↑ Richard Edney, Mirko Bagaric, Australian Sentencing: Principles and Practice, (Cambridge University Press, 2007) p78.
  3. ↑ Commonwealth Of Australia Constitution, section 69.
  4. ↑ Commonwealth Of Australia Constitution, Section 84.
  5. ↑ Public Service Act. 1902, section 78.
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