Guides: Constitutional Law: Journals & Databases

Halsbury's Laws of Australia - Legal Encyclopaedia

Using Halsbury's Laws of Australia (Lexis Advance) the following sections are covered under Constitutional Law.

Constitutional Law Chapter

Constitutional Law - Introduction Australian constitutional law derives from a variety of sources: the Commonwealth Constitution, the Statute of Westminster, the Australia Acts...

The Parliaments The Commonwealth Parliament, in which the Commonwealth Constitution vests the legislative power of the Commonwealth, consists of the Queen...

Legislative Powers

The Commonwealth Constitution (the ‘Constitution’) establishes a federal system of government for Australia. Under this system the power to legislate for the Australian community has been divided between the Commonwealth Parliament and the State Parliaments...

Executive Governments

The office of the Crown pervades Australia’s constitutional structures. ...

Judicial Power

The Commonwealth Constitution devotes a separate chapter, Chapter III, to ‘The Judicature’. Under that chapter...

Finance and Trade

The Commonwealth Constitution effects a division of taxation powers between the Commonwealth and the States. ..

Journal Titles

Federal Law Review
Published since 1964 by the ANU College of Law; the Federal Law Review ("FLR") is recognised as one of Australia’s leading academic law journals. The FLR specialises in matters of federal law including Commonwealth constitutional and administrative law and international law and comparative law in so far as it affects the Commonwealth.
Journal of Judicial Administration (Westlaw)
The Journal of Judicial Administration is published by the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration and covers contemporary developments in judicial systems and court administration.
International Journal of Constitutional Law
Published in association with the New York University School of Law. It examines an array of theoretical and practical issues and offers critical analysis of current issues and debates. In addition, the journal looks at global trends that carry constitutional implications
Law Quarterly Review
Articles from the Law Quarterly Review provide an authoritative and critical analysis on a broad range of legal issues. It is widely acclaimed as a leading platform for scholarly legal debate, in the UK and throughout the common law world. Limited date coverage.
Statute Law Review
The principal objectives of the Review are to provide a vehicle for the consideration of the legislative process, the use of legislation as an instrument of public policy and of the drafting and interpretation of legislation. The Review, which was first established in 1980, is the only journal of its kind within the Commonwealth.

Databases

HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
See "Australia" - includes links to Constitutions & Fundamental Laws, Commentaries & Other Resources, Scholarly Articles, Bibliography of Select Constitutional Works.

The Laws of Australia - Legal Encyclopaedia

Using The Laws of Australia (Westlaw) under the subject of Government the following sections are covered on the Constitution.

Constitutional Law - Introduction, Constitutional Foundations, Australian Constitutional Principles, Approaches to Constitutional Interpretation, Standing in Constitutional Cases, Jurisdiction in Constitutional Cases.

Legislature - Introduction, Constitution, Composition, Privileges and Immunities, Power, Delegation of Legislative Power

Executive - Introduction, Structure, Executive Authority

Judiciary - Introduction, Constitution of the Judiciary, Separation of Judicial Power, Definiton of Judicial Power of the Commonwealth

Federal Constitutional System - Introduction, Framework for Federal Distribution of Legislative Power, Section 51 Powers, 4 Section 52 Exclusive Powers, Legislative Power in Respect of Territories. Federal Fiscal and Economic Framework, Federal Distribution of Judicial Power, Federal Judicial Structure

Constitutional Guarantees & Rights Introduction; Guarantees under the Commonwealth Constitution; Guarantees under State and Territory Constitutions

Practice & Procedure Introduction; Procedure in Constitutional Cases; Nature of relief; Consequences of invalidity; Costs

Accessing Journal Articles

AGIS Plus Text (Informit) This link opens in a new window
AGIS - articles in Australian law journals from the 1970s+ some articles are full text. Use this database to search for articles on a specific constitutional law topic eg: separation of powers, or a specific section of the Constitution.
AUSTLII (Australasian Legal Information Institute) This link opens in a new window
A database of over 380 free full-text articles on the historical development of Australian law since colonisation, including the reception of English law, the colonial courts, federation and the Constitution.