Taking Judging and Judges Seriously: Facts, Framework and Function in Australian Constitutional Law

The key actors in the legal profession — judges, legal practitioners and the academy — each have roles to play in influencing and shaping the development of Australian constitutional law. This article addresses the importance of those key actors taking their own roles, and the roles of each other, seriously. It does so by examining three core themes — or threads — running through the fabric of Australian constitutional law: facts, framework and the judicial function. That examination reveals the importance of judges taking the role of judging as seriously as they do in shaping Australian constitutional law, but also the importance of practitioners and the academy understanding the judicial role, as well as their own roles, in helping to shape Australian constitutional law. In the end, judges, legal practitioners and academics travel the same road. Each brings unique contributions to the unceasing development and shaping of the mosaic which is Australian constitutional law.