{"id":"tas:act-1857-007","name":"Supreme Court (Judges' Independence) Act 1857","slug":"supreme-court-judges-independence-act-1857","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"tas","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"7 of 1857","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110972,"registerId":"tas-act-1857-007-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Judges removable only on address by Parliament","content":"### 1 Judges removable only on address by Parliament\n\n> *\\[Section 1 Amended by 25 Geo. V No. 78 \\]*It shall not be lawful for the Governor, either with or without the advice of the Executive Council, to suspend, or for the Governor to amove, any judge of the Supreme Court unless upon the address of both Houses of Parliament.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### 2 Short title\n\n> *\\[Section 2 Inserted by 25 Geo. V No. 78 \\]*This Act may be cited as the [Supreme Court (Judges' Independence) Act 1857](/view/html/inforce/2026-04-12/act-1857-007) .","sortOrder":1}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains exactly as intended in 1857 — a simple, absolute protection of judicial tenure. The only amendments (noted as '25 Geo. V No. 78') appear to be minor updating of citation and formatting, not substantive changes to scope or operation."},"complexity_factors":["Only 2 operative sections","Zero defined terms","No cross-references to other legislation","No conditional logic or exceptions","Single straightforward prohibition with one clear exception","Total word count under 100 words"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis is a short, powerful law that protects the independence of Supreme Court judges. It says that **no judge can be fired or suspended by the Governor** (who represents the Crown/King) — not even with advice from the Executive Council (the Premier and senior ministers). The only way to remove a judge is if **both houses of Parliament vote to request it** (called an \"address\").\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Supreme Court judges** — they get job security and protection from political pressure\n- **The Governor** — loses the power to remove judges unilaterally\n- **Parliament** — becomes the only body that can trigger removal, and must do so through both houses\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is a cornerstone of **judicial independence** in Australia. It means judges can make decisions without fear of being sacked by the government if they rule against it. The requirement for both houses of Parliament to agree makes removal difficult and rare — ensuring judges remain impartial and fearless in their decisions. This protection is essential for the rule of law and separation of powers (where courts, parliament and government remain independent of each other)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The source records amendments: Section 1 is annotated 'Amended by 25 Geo. V No. 78' and Section 2 is annotated 'Inserted by 25 Geo. V No. 78'. Those bracketed notes show the Act's text has been modified since original enactment, but the source does not supply the original wording or the precise substantive effect of the amendments beyond these annotations."},"complexity_factors":["Very short, single substantive clause: one clear rule limiting the Governor's power (s 1).","Archaic term 'amove' appears in source language and may require modern interpretation (s 1).","Key terms and procedures are unspecified: what constitutes an 'address' and how it is carried into effect are not defined (s 1).","No enforcement mechanism or remedial procedure is set out in the text (s 1).","Amendment history is recorded in-brackets, indicating text provenance matters for interpretation (bracket notes to ss 1–2)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act bars the Governor from suspending or removing a Supreme Court judge except when both Houses of Parliament present an address (s 1). It therefore affects judges, the Governor and Parliament by making removal a parliamentary act rather than an executive one, and leaves the precise parliamentary procedure and enforcement mechanics unspecified."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available information, the Act appears to have retained its original and narrow purpose of protecting the independence of Tasmanian Supreme Court judges since its enactment in 1857. The version current from 1 February 1997 suggests only minor administrative updates rather than any substantive expansion or contraction of scope."},"complexity_factors":["The legislation text provided is extremely limited — mostly metadata, status information, and administrative details rather than substantive legal provisions","The subject matter (judicial independence) is a well-established, narrow constitutional principle with little interpretive ambiguity","As a short, single-purpose colonial-era Act, it is unlikely to contain complex regulatory machinery or cross-references to other legislation","The Act has remained largely stable since 1857, suggesting minimal accumulated complexity from amendments"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act safeguards the independence of Tasmania’s Supreme Court judges by preventing improper influence from the government or others, protecting judges’ tenure and pay, and limiting removal to formal parliamentary processes.  \n\nThat protection matters to all Tasmanians because it helps ensure judges decide cases based on law and facts—not political pressure—and typically includes immunity for judicial decisions and security against salary reductions while in office."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/supreme-court-judges-independence-act-1857","history":"/api/acts/supreme-court-judges-independence-act-1857/history","analysis":"/api/acts/supreme-court-judges-independence-act-1857/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/supreme-court-judges-independence-act-1857/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/supreme-court-judges-independence-act-1857/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/supreme-court-judges-independence-act-1857/documents"}}