Panel Discussion | Hon Justice James Edelman

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Professor James Goudkamp, Clarendon Harris Tutorial Fellow in Law, writes:

On 6 January 2026, the College hosted a panel discussion between the Hon Justice James Edelman AC, Professor James Goudkamp and Dr Michael Foran. Justice Edelman is an Honorary Fellow and formerly a Tutorial Fellow in Law. Since 2017, he has been a Justice of the High Court of Australia, which is Australia’s ultimate appellate and constitutional court. Professor Goudkamp and Dr Foran are the College’s Tutorial Fellows in Law.

The theme for the panel discussion was ‘When should final appellate courts overturn their earlier decisions?’ The discussions centred on the importance of legal rules being sufficiently predictable on the one hand, and on the need to correct error and ensure that the law remains in step with the contemporary expectations of society on the other. Different courts around the common law world balance these competing concerns in different ways. Issues discussed included (a) whether different approaches should be taken as regards different areas of the law; (b) whether the amount of time that has elapsed since the earlier decision concerned operates in favour or against overruling; (c) the relationship between overruling and judicial lawmaking more generally; and (d) the distinction between overruling decisions and distinguishing decisions. The decision of the High Court in Vunilagi v The Queen [2023] HCA 24 (concerning suspension of jury trials during the pandemic) was used as a reference point for the debate.

The College is grateful to Justice Edelman for his ongoing support. The event was hosted by the College’s Harris Society (which is its law society) named in honour of the late Professor Jim Harris FBA.