Excerpts from the judgement

'The 2nd respondent has advanced two preliminary grounds, and each one of those grounds, if successful, would in fact defeat the application so that it could not be considered on its merits. This is because each of the preliminary points raises the question whether this court would have the right to hear and determine this application in the circumstances of this case. If the court determined that it did not have the power in either situation, then that would be the end of the application'

'The first rule of interpretation of a statute and in this include the words of a constitutional provision is that the words used in it should be first given their ordinary natural and literal meaning, and if as such they give a clear and logical meaning of the intent of the Act, then they must be left to bear that meaning without the necessity for further interpretation.'