R v Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration and the Australian Journalists' Association

The High Court of Australia considered applications for orders of prohibition brought by The Daily News Proprietary Ltd. against the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, its President, and Mr. Justice Isaacs as Deputy President, and also against the Australian Journalists' Association. The dispute arose from a plaint filed by the Australian Journalists' Association against various newspaper proprietors, including The Daily News Proprietary Ltd., which was heard by Deputy President Isaacs J. The Deputy President had delivered a judgment containing minutes of a proposed award and subsequently signed a document purporting to be his award, without any further formal award being drawn up.

The legal issues before the High Court were whether the purported award was made in respect of an industrial dispute within the meaning of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904-1915 and section 51(xxxv.) of the Constitution. Additionally, the Court had to determine if a valid award of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was in existence, and whether the Deputy President possessed the power to make such a compulsory award under the Act.

The High Court, after hearing further argument on the question of whether prohibition would lie, ultimately discharged the orders nisi. The Court did not provide detailed reasons for its decision, but the outcome indicates that it found no grounds to grant the prohibition sought by The Daily News Proprietary Ltd. Consequently, the purported award was allowed to stand.