The Prime Minister as puppet: taking Howard to the High Court

The author examines a constitutional oddity, the common informer suit. This mechanism allows a member of the public the opportunity to challenge the right of a Member of Parliament to continue to sit in the event that he or she meets one of the grounds for disqualification in section 44 of the Australian Constitution. The author evaluates the use of the common informer suit as a means by which any person can mount a challenge in the High Court against the Prime Minister, John Howard. The relevant ground for disqualification is the second limb of section 44(i), which disqualifies Members of Parliament who are under any acknowledgment of allegiance to a foreign power.