Sir John Latham's Extra-Judicial Advising

Abstract

Sir John Latham served as Chief Justice of the High Court from 1935 to 1952, his appointment to the bench following closely on his earlier career in conservative politics. While publicly, Latham's conduct as Chief Justice conformed to the general norms of judicial behaviour - in particular the requirements of judicial independence and impartiality - privately he remained involved in the political world. As this article shows, almost from the beginning of his time as Chief Justice, Latham clandestinely provided advice to federal government and actively communicated with political contacts about sensitive and partisan issues. Building on the work of Clem Lloyd, the article exposes the sweep of Latham's extra-judicial advising before, during and after World War II, including his remarkable involvement with the Liberal Party in the lead-up to the 1949 federal election. The article concludes with an assessment of Latham's conduct and reflects on lessons to be learnt from it.