Lewis v The Australian Capital Territory

The High Court of Australia considered the appeal of Lewis against the Australian Capital Territory. The dispute concerned the validity of a notice issued under section 12 of the *Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1961* (Cth) (the Act) which purported to exempt the Territory from liability for death or injury caused by the negligent operation of aircraft. Lewis had suffered injury during a flight operated by the Territory.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the notice issued under section 12 of the Act was a valid exercise of the power conferred by that section, and consequently, whether it effectively exempted the Territory from liability for the injury sustained by Lewis. This required the Court to interpret the scope and operation of section 12 and its interaction with the common law principles of negligence and statutory interpretation.

Gageler and Keane JJ held that the notice was invalid. Their Honours reasoned that section 12 of the Act, by its terms, permitted the exemption of a carrier from liability only in respect of death or bodily injury caused by the negligent operation of an aircraft *in the course of international carriage*. As the carriage in question was domestic, the notice purporting to exempt the Territory from liability for domestic carriage was beyond the power conferred by the section. The Court applied the principle that statutory powers must be exercised within the limits prescribed by the statute, and that any attempt to exercise a power beyond those limits renders the exercise of that power invalid.

The High Court allowed the appeal and set aside the orders of the primary judge.