Judicial Review of Migration Decisions: Ousting the Hickman Privative Clause?

[Commonwealth legislative proposals to circumscribe judicial intervention in migration determina·tions have been a recurring item on the federal government S agenda. This paper examines theMigration Legislation Amendment (Judicial Review) Act 2001 (Oh), which. by means of anexpansive ouster clause. Significantly curtails curial supervision of immigration and refugeedecisions by both the Federal Court and the High Court. Part I details the amendments and theimplications of the established Hickman approach to judicial review within the migration context.Part 11 explores the constitutional issues posed by the anu>'ldments, particularly whether the changesamount to an effective ouster of the High Court S inviolable original jurisdiction. Part III assessesthe suitability ofthe Hiekman approach and examines feasihle alternatives to the recent reforms.]