This paper will outline the phenomenon of hyper-legislation in an Australian (i.e. federal) context and then consider judicial responses to it. It will do so with particular reference to the principle of legality. That inquiry will consider also the role which the principle may increasingly play to ensure that proper consideration is given in statutes to rights, freedoms and principles when the legislative process – specifically its dominance by the executive – is deficient in this regard. It will be suggested that the principle of legality operates already as prophylactic fundamental rights presumption and that this function becomes increasingly important in the circumstances of hyper-legislation. More controversially, it will be argued that the courts may, quite properly, “pick up the slack” and deploy its considerable interpretive powers to those statutes that emerge from a legislative process which fails to give due and careful consideration to fundamental rights.

Our 2020 Annual Conference was scheduled to be held at the University of Wrocław in Poland on July 9-11, 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ICON·S Executive Committee has decided to postpone our 2020 Conference to 2021. Our next Annual Conference will take place from July 8-10, 2021, in Wrocław, Poland.
Procedural details regarding the organization of the 2021 Conference will follow in the months ahead.
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