The role of the High Court of Australia as a legal, political and social institution in the framework of Australian government. Topics include: the relationship of the High Court to the other institutions of government; the relationship of the Court to other courts within the judicial system; the historical development of the Court and its distinctive features through different periods of that development; the Court's composition and internal working, its style of legal reasoning, its contribution to the development of distinctively Australian law in selected areas and the place of its individual members in the Australian judicial tradition. The course is divided broadly into five parts: the history of the Court and its justices; appointment and removal of justices; the jurisdiction and operation of the Court; the Court's role and record in public and private law; and the Court's relations with the political branches of government, including its public accountability. About half of the course is based on discussion of prepared materials, and the other half on research essays by each student presented to the class in the style of a seminar. One or more High Court justices may be invited to address the class. In 2001 former Chief Justices Sir Gerard Brennan and Sir Harry Gibbs addressed the class.