Section 44 of Australian Constitution †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Section 44 of Australian Constitution. Answer: Introduction: Section 44 of Australian Constitution states, disqualification regarding appointment of candidate as senator. It must be noted that government choose senators from the people of each state and territory, and these senators are choose through voting at periodic elections. Senator represents the state for the period of six years and term of territory senators will coincide with the terms of the House of Representatives[1]. In this essay we discuss the disqualifications stated by section 44 of the Australian constitution. Subsequently paper is concluded with brief conclusion. Section 44 of Australian constitution: Those provisions which govern the qualifications regarding candidates who want to appear in elections and of senators, are stated under Australian Constitution and the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (CEA). The main aim of these provisions is to make sure that people who stand for elections, and are members of the national Parliament must fulfill their duties with due care and free from undue external interference. It is necessary that candidate who wants to appear in election for position of senate must be At least completed the age of 18 years. Must be a citizen of Australia. An elector who wants to vote must be qualified to become an elector. During the period of 1901, these requirements were completely different but Constitution of Australia imposed power under Parliament to change these requirements, and on many occasions parliament make changes in it. If any person is the member of the House of Representatives or a state or territory legislature must give his resignation before standing for the Senate, and this is stated under section 43 of the Constitution and section 164 of the CEA. It is not possible for person to make multiple nominations, stated under section 165 of the CEA[2]. Section 44 imposed some limitations on eligibility of candidate, and these limitations are stated below. This section states that person cannot be appointed as senate if: Such person is the citizen of a foreign power; or Such person is attainted of treason; or Such person has been convicted and sentenced for any offence under Commonwealth orstate law which is punishable by a imprisonment of 12 months or more; or Such person is an un discharged bankrupt; or Such person holds an office of profit under the Crown; or Such person has a pecuniary interest in any agreement with the Commonwealth Public service[3]. Furthermore, it must be noted that if any person convicted for offence like bribery or undue influence then such person is disqualified from being chosen as a senator for the period of 2 years after the conviction. This can be understood through case law Sue v Hill[4]. In this case, High Court provides its decision on 23rd June 1999. Declaration was made by the majority of High Court that one nation senator-elect names as Heather hill was not qualified for being chosen as senator and not duly elected within the meaning of section 360(1)(v) of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (Cth). High Court ruled that United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland was a 'foreign power' for the purposes of s 44(i) of the Commonwealth Constitution. There is one ore case which help in understanding the issue related to section 44, Re Wood [1988] HCA 22.[5] In this case, petition was dismissed by High Court by Judges Brennan, Deane and Toohey JJ in December 1987 on technical grounds. Judgment made by both judges includes number on observations regarding section 44 of the Constitution. Disqualification is not happened only on the ground of conviction of an offense, but it was necessary that person must serve a sentence for imprisonment for one year or more or subject to be sentenced for that offense. Therefore, person has not been disqualified after the sentence has been served. Person must have been judged as an un-discharged insolvent. Allegation related to allegiance of foreign power not show neither the foreign power nor the acknowledgement related to that allegiance. After considering the above facts, it is clear that impose restrictions on the eligibility of Australian candidates to stand for parliament. It must be noted that effect of section 44 are clear and does not include any ambiguousness. Conclusion: This paper discuss the restriction and disqualifications described by section 44 of Australian Constitution and these disqualifications are discussed with the help of two case laws that are Sue v Hill and Re Wood [1988] HCA 22. References Matthew Doran, Entitled' to dual citizenship? The grey area in Section 44 of the constitution, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-28/citizenship-grey-area-in-constitution-tripping-up-mps-senators/8754586, Accessed on 6th October 2017. Parliament of Australia, Section 44 of the Constitution, https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/Section44, Accesssed on 6th October 2017. Commonwealth Of Australia Constitution ACT - SECT 44. Caselaw Sue v Hill - [1999] HCA 30. Re Wood [1988] HCA 22.