Royal Commissions

Royal Commissions are an important form of inquiry into matters of public importance.

Many of these matters involve the operation of the criminal law although Royal Commissions are not necessarily restricted to criminal law matters.

The Law Council considers that Royal Commissions are necessary for matters of substantial public importance but that an alternative form of statutory inquiry should also be introduced.

The Law Council has reached this position particularly in the light of the experience with the 2008 Clarke Inquiry into the case of Dr Mohammed Haneef, which was constituted without a statutory basis. The Law Council expressed its concerns about the non-statutory basis for the inquiry at the time. While Mr Clarke was ultimately satisfied that he was able to access all relevant material, he concluded that future inquiries similar to the Haneef inquiry should not be conducted without a statutory basis.

The Law Council considers that:

  • There should be two tiers of public inquiries: Royal Commissions and Official Inquiries;
  • Royal Commissions should be reserved for matters of substantial public importance and Official Inquiries should address matters of public importance;
  • Royal Commissions should have more extensive powers, including coercive powers but that such powers must be accompanied by appropriate safeguards to protect the rights of individuals interested in or affected by the inquiries; and
  • Inquiry heads not Government agencies should determine what National Security Information is provided to inquiries and what information should be publicly released.

Materials

Years: 2009 , 2008

2009

2008