Mr. Chief Justice,
The Citizenship Committee has recently revoked Justice @Belschaft’s citizenship for failing to vote in either election. Under Judiciary Act 1(2) “Justices of the High Court must be citizens of the Coalition.” In light of this, I would ask whether it is your view that Justice Belschaft has thereby vacated his seat on the Court, and if so, what steps the Court has taken in response.
CC: @Griffindor
Given that the Citizenship removals occurred roughly 48 hours ago, the internal processing to remove High Court Justices had not (at the time this inquiry was raised) been done. As of this post, the process has been initiated.
Furthermore, as the High Court is only required by Article 1 Section 1 of the Judiciary Act to have a Chief Justice and at least two Justices, there is no statutory requirement for the Court to seek new members. However, I can confirm that such a discussion has been raised in the Court’s private chambers regarding possible calls for applications to the High Court.
I am happy to answer any questions the Assembly may have.
I thank the Chief Justice for his prompt and thoughtful response to my questions.