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Research biography

Professor James Stellios is a leading constitutional law scholar. His primary research interest is the operation of the judiciary provisions in Chapter III of the Constitution, and his published work has been widely cited by Australian courts, litigants in constitutional cases, law reform bodies and in the published works of leading Australian jurists and scholars.

James is the primary investigator on an ARC Discovery grant (with Professor John Williams and Associate

He was awarded the Zines Prize for Excellence in Legal Research for a 2014 article published in the Federal Law Review on the centralisation of judicial power in Australia. He was also awarded the Cheryl Saunders Prize for Constitutional Law from the Australian Association of Constitutional Law for his work on judicial power published in the Public Law Review.

He is also a practising barrister appearing in constitutional cases before the High Court. He is regularly invited to speak about his research at national and international conferences.

His books include Zines's The High Court and the Constitution (6th and 7th eds, 2015, 2022), The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia: History, Principle and Interpretation (2015) and The Federal Judicature: Chapter III of the Constitution (2nd, ed, 2020).

Research projects & collaborations

• James' main research interests are in constitutional law, particularly Chapter III of the Constitution.

Grants

• 2014: ARC Discovery Project: Law, Order and Federalism (with John Williams (Adelaide) and Gabrielle Appleby (UNSW)): $328,000, DP 140101218

Consultancies

APPEARANCES AS JUNIOR COUNSEL

High Court

• Masson v Parsons [2019] HCA 21
• Rizeq v Western Australia (2017) 262 CLR 1
• Alqudsi v The Queen (2016) 258 CLR 203
• North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency Limited v Northern Territory (2015) 256 CLR 569
• Duncan v New South Wales (2015) 255 CLR 388
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Edensor Nominees Pty Ltd (2001) 204 CLR 559
• Cheung v The Queen (2001) 209 CLR 1
• Brownlee v The Queen (2001) 207 CLR 278
• Commonwealth v Yarmirr (2001) 208 CLR 1
• Western Australia v Ward (2002) 213 CLR 1
• ABC v Lenah Game Meats Pty Ltd (2001) 208 CLR 199
• Re JJT; Ex parte Victoria Legal Aid (1998) 195 CLR 184

High Court special leave application

• Jacka v Australian Capital Territory (17 April 2015: C7/2014)

Full Court of the Federal Court

• National Road Transport Association Ltd v Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal [2016] FCAFC 56
• Fair Work Ombudsman v Valuair Limited (No 2) [2014] FCA 759
• Yanner v Minister, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Affairs [2001] FCA 36

NSW Court of Criminal Appeal

• Phan v The Queen [2018] NSWCCA 225

NSW Supreme Court

• Schneider v Brydon LCM [2012] NSWSC 964

ACT Court of Appeal

• Australian Capital Territory v Lewis (ACTCA 31/2015)
• Jacka v Australian Capital Territory [2014] ACTCA 49

Books & edited collections

• The Federal Judicature: Chapter III of the Constitution (2nd ed, 2020)
• Current Issues in Australian Constitutional Law: Tributes to Professor Leslie Zines (The Federation Press, 2020) (with Justice John Griffiths)
• The Federal Court’s Contribution to Australian Law: Past, Present and Future (The Federation Press, 2018) (with P Ridge)
• Encounters with Constitutional Interpretation and Legal Education: Essays in Honour of Michael Coper (Federation Press, 2018)
• The Tasmanian Dam Case 30 Years On: An Enduring Legacy (Federation Press, 2017) (with M Coper and H Roberts)
• Zines's High Court and the Constitution (6th ed; 2015)
• The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia – History, Principle and Interpretation (2015) (with N Aroney, P Gerangelos and S Murray)
• The Federal Judicature: Chapter III of the Constitution (2010)
• Hanks Australian Constitutional Law (9th ed; 2013) (with Jennifer Clarke and Patrick Keyzer)
• Hanks Australian Constitutional Law (8th ed; 2009) (with Jennifer Clarke and Patrick Keyzer)
• Harris – Cases and Materials on International Law: An Australian Supplement (Law Book Co, 2003), with JP Fonteyne and A McNaugton

Refereed journal articles

• 'Choice of Law in Federal Jurisdiction after Rizeq v Western Australia' (2018) 46 Australian Bar Review 187-203
• 'Rights in the Australian Federation' (2018) 20 European Journal of Law Reform 258 (with N Aroney))
• ‘The Masking of Judicial Power Values: Historical Analogies and Double Function Provisions’ (2017) 28 Public Law Review 138-157
• ‘Marbury v Madison: Constitutional Limitations and Statutory Discretions’ (2016) 42 Australian Bar Review 324-349
• ‘The Centralisation of Judicial Power within the Australian Federal System’ (2014) 42 Federal Law Review 357
• 'Kable, Preventative Detention and the Dilemmas of Chapter III' (2014) 88 Australian Law Journal 52
• 'Chapter III of the Constitution, Federal Jurisdiction and Dialogue Models of Human Rights' (2012) 26 Melbourne University Law Review 1 (with Will Bateman)
• 'Exploring the Purposes of Section 75(v) of the Constitution' (2011) 34 University of NSW Law Journal 70
• 'Reconceiving The Separation of Judicial Power’ (2011) 22 Public Law Review 113
• ‘State/Territory Human Rights Legislation in a Federal Judicial System’ (2008) 19 Public Law Review 52
• 'Using Federalism to Protect Political Communication: Implications for Federal Representative Government' (2007) 31 Melbourne University Law Review 239
• ‘Choice of Law and the Australian Constitution: Locating the Debate’ (2005) 33 Federal Law Review 1
• ‘The Constitutional Jury: “A Bulwark of Liberty”?’ (2005) 27 Sydney Law Review 113

Book chapters

• 'Military Justice and the Constitution' in Robin Creyke, Dale Stephens and Peter Sutherland (eds), Military Law in Australia (The Federation Press, 2019) 54-68
• 'The Federal Court and Constitutional Law' in Pauline Ridge and James Stellios (eds), The Federal Court’s Contribution to Australian Law: Past, Present and Future (The Federation Press, 2018) 103-138 (with Justice John Griffiths)
• 'Choice of Law in Federal Jurisdiction after Rizeq v Western Australia' (2018) 46 Australian Bar Review 187-203
• 'Federal Jurisdiction' in Cheryl Saunders and Adrienne Stone (eds), The Oxford Handbook on the Australian Constitution (OUP, 2018) 879-901
• 'Liberty as a Constitutional Value: The Difficulty of Differing Conceptions of "The Relationship of the Individual to the State"' in Rosalind Dixon (ed), Australian Constitutional Values (2018) 177-194
• ‘Australian Constitutionalism and the UK-Style Dialogue Model of Human Rights Protection’, in J Bell and M L Paris (ed), Rights-Based Constitutional Review: Constitutional Courts in a Changing Landscape (2016, Edward Elgar Publishing)
• 'Regulating Telecommunications Interception and Access: A Sea-Change in Surveillance Laws'; in Michael and Michael (eds), Social Implications of Information Security Measures on Citizens and Business (2006) (with Simon Bronitt)
• 'Copyright and Freedom of Political Communication in Australia', in Griffiths and Suthersanen (eds), Copyright and Free Speech (2005) (with Robert Burrell)

Conference papers & presentations

• ‘The Effect of Freedom of Political Communication on Discretionary Decision-Making’, Symposium of Free Speech, Melbourne Law School, 23 June 2016
• ‘Individual Liberty: The Difficulty of Differing Conceptions of “The Relationship of the Individual to the State”’, Australian Constitutional Law Roundtable, UNSW Law School, 10 June 2016
• ‘Federal Jurisdiction’, Oxford Handbook of the Australian Constitution Conference, Melbourne Law School, 18 March 2016
• ‘The Normalisation of Judicial Power’, paper delivered at Judicial Independence in Australia Conference, University of Queensland, 10 July 2015
• ‘The Centralisation of Judicial Power within the Australian Federal System’, paper presented at the AGD Constitutional Law Symposium, Canberra, 15 April 2014
• 'Australian Constitutionalism and the UK-Style Dialogue Model of Human Rights Protection', paper delivered at the Society of Legal Scholars Annual Seminar, 2 July 2013, Dublin
• Comment on Paper Presented by Prof Helen Irving, AACL Seminar, Sydney, 6 February 2013
• Comment on Paper Presented by Stephen McLeish SC, 'The Nationalisation of the State Court System', Recent Developments in Constitutional Law Conference, Melbourne Law School, 21 July 2012
• 'Looking over the Horizon', Sparke Helmore Seminar, March 2012
• Seminar on Momcilovic v the Crown, Monash Law School, October 2011
• Momcilovic Constitutional Issues, Public Law Weekend, ANU College of Law, September 2011

Government submissions

• Submission to the Human Rights Consultation, 15 June 2009 (with Amelia Simpson)
• Submission to the Human Rights Consultation, 15 June 2009
• Submission to Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee Inquiry into Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment Bill 2007,1 August 2007 (with Simon Bronitt)
• Submission to Minister Brough on constitutional issues regarding the Northern Territory emergency legislation, August 2007 (with Jennifer Clark, Amelia Simpson and Fiona Wheeler)
• Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission, Privacy Inquiry, 27 February 2007 (with Simon Bronitt and Kevin Leong)
• Submission to Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Australian Human Rights Commission Legislation Bill 2003, 23 April 2003 (with Don Anton, Peter Bailey, Andrew Byrnes, Hilary Charlesworth, Mick Dodson, Pene Mathew, Wayne Morgan and Anne McNaughton)
• Submission to Victorian Human Rights Consultative Committee, October 2005
• Consultant providing advice to the Victorian Law Reform Commission on workplace privacy, September 2003 (with Amelia Simpson)

Committees

EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS

• Convenor, ACT Chapter, Australian Association of Constitutional Law

INTERNAL ANU COLLEGE OF LAW COMMITTEES

• ANU College of Law Visitors Committee

Case notes & book reviews

• ‘The Rule of Law and the Australian Constitution, by Lisa Burton Crawford’ (2018) 25 Australian Journal of Administrative Law 199
• ‘Commentary on Dixon: Conceptions of Judicial Review', (2015) 43 Federal Law Review 511
• ‘Commentary on "State Jurisdictional Residue: What Remains to a State Court when its Chapter III Functions are Exhausted?" By Professor Helen Irving’ (2014) 42 Federal Law Review 143
• 'Constitutional Limitations on State and Commonwealth Parliaments' (2011) 23(3) LegalDate 4
• ‘The Intercourse Limb of Section 92 and the High Court’s decision in APLA Ltd v Legal Services Commissioner' (NSW) (2006) 17 Public Law Review 1
• ‘The Right to Sexual Privacy in Australia’ (2005) 17 LegalDate 10
• ‘Section 80 of the Constitution’ (2003) 15 LegalDate 3
• ‘Brownlee v The Queen: Method in the Madness’ (2001) 29 Federal Law Review 319 ‘International Law and Australian Federalism’ (1997) 25 International Journal of Legal Information 247