Determination as to the true nature and character of a law must be made by reference to, and be guided by, the Constitution — Hafiz Hassan

OCTOBER 26 — Eight months ago, I shared the Australian experience of conflict between federal and state when both authorities or governments passed legislation on the same subject.

The Australian Constitution establishes a federal system of government in which legislative powers are distributed between the federal parliament/governments and the six state parliaments/governments.

Section 109 of the Australian Constitution provides that “when a law of a State is inconsistent with a law [passed by the federal parliament], the latter shall prevail, and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid.”

Canada is also a federation with one federal government, three territorial governments and ten provincial governments sharing lawmaking responsibilities.