The High Court Rules
Egon Kisch's legal team was headed by Christian Jollie Smith, who secured a writ of habeas corpus for Kisch and briefed Albert Piddington and Maurice Blackburn, who took his case to the full bench of the High Court, which on 19 December 1934 ruled that he be free to visit Australia. Kisch's legal team were able to demonstrate that Constable Mackay, who had administered the test, although born in Scotland, was not actually able to understand the Lord's Prayer in Scottish Gaelic himself. Crucially, the Court ruled that the dictation test had been invalid in any case, in that Scottish Gaelic was not "an European language" within the meaning of the Immigration Restriction Act. Kisch was now free to visit and speak in Australia. Or so it seemed.
Read more about this topic: Attempted Exclusion Of Egon Kisch From Australia
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