John David Phillips
Phillips' retirement speech generated debate in Victoria on judicial independence. In the Australian experience, government is separated into three branches, the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Each branch is independent of the others, and is recognised in the Australian Constitution at the federal level. Phillips on his retirement was critical of the intrusion of the executive into the work of the courts, being the judicial branch. For example, the Supreme Court was referred to as "Business Unit 19" by the Victorian Government. Phillips did not suggest that the Victorian Government would attempt to influence directly a decision of the court. However, there appeared to be "What is evolving ...a perception of the court as some sort of unit of functionary within the Department of Justice”.
Court of Cassation (France)
The Court does not have juisdiction over cases involving claims against administrators or public bodies, which fall within the jurisdiction of administrative courts, for which the Council of State acts as the supreme court of appeal; nor over cases involving constitutional issues, which fall within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Council; nor over cases involving disputes about which of these courts has jusridiction, which are heard by the Jurisdictional Disputes Tribunal. Collectively, these four courts form the topmost tier of the French court system.