ABSTRACT
This chapter describes that the Australian jurisprudence paralleled the British experience, with earlier twentieth-century cases making clear that natural justice was required procedure in superior courts. Lord Goddard CJ was very clear in the post-World War II period as to the necessity of natural justice in courts, admonishing the magistrates at Bodmin for taking evidence from a witness in chambers in the absence of the other party, Time and again this court has said that justice must not only be done but must manifestly be seen to be done. The Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission Act was the focus of the first High Court case in the field in the twenty-first century. The chapter conclude that the Australian position seems much weaker regarding the necessity of open fair hearings in courts, which is surprising in the light of the constitutional separation of courts, which separation indicates a necessary bright-line boundary between them and administrative decision-makers.
