LAWYERS WEEKLY: ‘Profound misunderstandings’ around rule of law still prevalent: Chief Justice.
by Naomi Neilson
Prompted by former attorney-general Christian Porter’s dismissal of an inquiry into a historic rape allegation, “careless” definitions of the rule of law have continued to circulate and undermine legal processes, the NSW Chief Justice has said.
Amid his strenuous denial that he raped a woman 33 years ago, Christian Porter incorrectly claimed that an inquiry would compromise the rule of law, driving miscommunication in political spaces that in turn confused the public and undermined their confidence in the judiciary and normal legal processes, the Chief Justice said in a recent speech.
Commenting on why he would not be standing down pending an inquiry, Mr Porter said at the time that there would be “no rule of law left to protect” and later claimed that on the balance of standards, “I would be asked to disprove [the allegations]”.
Speaking at the District Court’s annual conference, the Honourable Chief Justice Tom Bathurst AC said he has been troubled by the discourse around the rule of law by politicians, the media and the public. He said that what has become clear is that there are “profound misunderstandings” about what the law actually is.
