Timeline of all important dates in australian legal history. PDF

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Timeline of all important dates in Australian Legal history. ...

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TIMELINE OF AUSTRALIAN LEGAL HISTORY 1788 First White Settlers in Australia Effect  - English law transplanted on Australian soil. ________________________________________________________________ 1810 First Civilian Judge in Australia Effect  - Ellis Brant arrived and noticed that the military had too much power - 1818 John Bigge appointed to investigate and recommended that the English system be enforced. ________________________________________________________________ 1823 New South Wales Act Effect  - Established Australia’s first court. - Established Legislative Council. - Gave colonial judges security of tenure. ________________________________________________________________ 1825 Governor Darling Commissioned Effect  - Provided for an executive council, appointed by the Crown whose advice was required prior to certain executive acts. - Governor retained full power and authority over other executive matters such as defence of the realm issues. ________________________________________________________________ 1828 Australian Courts Act Effect  - All laws and statutes in force in England were applicable in Australia. ________________________________________________________________ 1842 Australia Constitutions Act (No 1) Effect  - Modified legislative council. - Modified powers of Governor-General. ________________________________________________________________

1855 New South Wales Constitutions Act Effect  - Bicameral legislature. ________________________________________________________________ 1865 Colonial Laws Validity Act Effect  - Repugnancy. ________________________________________________________________ 1868 Appeals on Federal Matters to PC Abolished ________________________________________________________________ 1885 Federal Council of Australasia Act ________________________________________________________________ 1889 Cooper v Stuart (1889) 14 App Cas 286 Effect  - Privy Council confirmed that, in the eyes of the common law, Australia had been settled. - Along with the convicts, came the common law. ________________________________________________________________ 1891 National Australasian Convention meet in Sydney Effect  - Draft bill for a Federal Constitution. ________________________________________________________________ 1900 Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act Effect  - Constitution passed by Imperial Parliament. - Commonwealth Parliament given power to legislate on tax, trade, commerce, immigration, industrial arbitration. ________________________________________________________________ 1926 Balfour Declaration Effect  - Governor Generals were to act on the advice of locally elected governments.

- Partnership not master and servant. ________________________________________________________________ 1931 Statute of Westminster Effect  - British parliament would not pass laws applying to the dominion powers unless the dominions requested it. - The laws of dominion parliament would no loner be invalid for repugnancy. - Dominion parliaments can pass laws outside of borders. ________________________________________________________________ 1942 Statute of Westminster Adoption Act ________________________________________________________________ 1971 Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd (1971) 17 FLR Effect  - Saw that there was Aboriginal laws and customs but didn’t recognise this as part of the common law. ________________________________________________________________ 1975 Appeals from the High Court to PC on matters of State Law Abolished ________________________________________________________________ 1976 Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 Effect  - Allowed blocks of land in NT to be granted to land trusts if traditional Aboriginal ownership could be proven. ________________________________________________________________ 1985 Australian (Request) Acts Effect  - Requested British Parliament give up legislative power. Australia (Request and Consent) Act Effect  - UK give up whatever power it might still have over Australia as a whole. ________________________________________________________________ 1986 Appeals on State Matters Abolished

________________________________________________________________ 1986 Australia Acts Effect  - British and Commonwealth Parliaments each passed a virtually identically worded statute which cut all all law making power. ________________________________________________________________ 1993 Native Title Act 1993 Effect  - Clarified and simplified the process by which Aboriginal people can make claims. ________________________________________________________________ 1996 Wik Peoples v Queensland (1996) 187 CLR 1 Effect  - Underlined the significance of Mabo. - Native Title could exist over lands covered by pastoral leases. ________________________________________________________________ 1998 Native Title Amendment Act 1998 Effect  - Restricted common law native title - Strengthened the position of pastoralists and mining companies who wished to exploit land over which native title might be held. ________________________________________________________________ 1999 Mabo v Queensland [No 2] (1992) 175 CLR 1 Effect  - Aboriginal connection to the land recognised and they could apple for ownership. ________________________________________________________________ 2001 Commonwealth v Yarmirr (2001) 208 CLR 1 Effect  - Native Title extended out to sea. ________________________________________________________________ 2008 Northern Territory of Australia v Arnhem Land Aboriginal Land Trust (2008) 236 CLR 24

Effect  - Native Title holders in Arnhem land had rights over the tidal waters in Blue Mud Bay....