also closed off. The life tenure of High Court Justices was ended in 1977. A national referendum in May 1977 approved the Constitution Alteration (Retirement of Judges) Act (Cth), which upon its commencement on 29 July 1977 amended section 72 of the Constitution so as require that all Justices appointed from then on must retire on attaining the age of 70 years. The High Court of Australia Act 1979 (Cth), which commenced on 21 April 1980, gave the High Court power to administer its own affairs and prescribed the qualifications for, and method of appointment of, its Justices. Legal history Historical periods of the High Court are commonly denoted by reference to the Chief Justice of the time. It ought be noted however, that the Chief Justice is not always the most influential figure on the Court. Griffith court: 1903–1919 The first Court under Chief Justice Griffith laid the foundations of Australia's constitutional law. The court was conscious of its position as Australia's new court of appeal, and made efforts to establish its authority at the top of Australia's court hierarchy. In Deakin v Webb (1904) It criticised the Victorian Supreme Court for following a Privy Council decision about the Constitution of Canada instead of its own authority. In its early years Griffith and other federalists on the bench were dominant. Their decisions were occasionally at odds with nationalist judges such as Sir Isaac Isaacs and H. B. Higgins in 1906. With the death of Justice Richard O'Connor, in 1912; the nationalists achieved majority and Griffith's influence began to decline. The early constitutional law decisions of the Griffith court was influenced by US Constitutional law. An important doctrine peculiar to the Griffith court was that of the Reserved State powers. Under this doctrine, the Commonwealth parliament's legislative powers were to be interpreted narrowly; so as to avoid intruding on areas of power traditionally exercised by the State Parliaments prior to federation. Anthony Mason has noted that this doctrine probably helped smooth the transition to a federal system of government and "by preserving a balance between the constituent elements of the Australian federation, probably conformed to community sentiment, which at that stage was by no means adjusted to the exercise of central power." Griffith and Sir Edmund Barton were frequently consulted by the States' governors-general, including on the exercise of the reserve powers. Knox, Isaacs and Gavan Duffy courts: 1919–1935 Knox