Australian judges have lashed out at Prime Minister Julia Gillard, saying it was irresponsible of her to criticise the High Court over its Malaysian asylum-seeker decision.
The High Court scuttled an arrangement under which 800 asylum-seekers who try to get to Australia by boat would have been transferred to Malaysia in exchange for 4000 verified refugees, over a four-year period.
It did so on the basis that the human rights of the asylum-seekers could not be guaranteed in Malaysia.
Ms Gillard accused the Chief Justice, Robert French, of being inconsistent with his other judgments, sparking outrage from the Opposition and legal groups.
Justice Philip McMurdo from the Judicial Conference of Australia says Ms Gillard is out of line.
"To suggest that a court has missed an opportunity to achieve a certain policy outcome is a completely misguided comment about what courts do," he says.
"They do not look for opportunities to further matters of policy whether that be government policy or otherwise."
The backlash comes just a day after Ms Gillard was forced to dismiss speculation of a leadership plot against her in the wake of her scathing attack on the court's ruling.
In an interview with the ABC she has defended her right to criticise the judgment.
Hundreds of asylum-seekers originally bound for Malaysia are being held on Christmas Island as the Government awaits urgent legal advice on how to proceed.
