Jurisdiction and Power: Habeas Corpus and the Federal Court

This paper criticises the distinction made in Ruddock v Vadarlis that the Federal Court may not issue a writ of habeas corpus, though it may issue an order in the nature of a writ of habeas corpus. The paper argues that the Federal Court may issue a writ of habeas corpus and identifies three statutory bases for this conclusion. The paper also argues that the court in Ruddock v Vardarlis misunderstood the writ in assuming that it was less flexible than it actually is; and that the conclusion reached in that case was unnecessary given the findings actually made by the court.