Ceremonial - Announcement of Appointment by Queen's Counsel - Canberra

[1991] HCATrans 27

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H I G H C O U R T 0 F A U S T R A L I A

CEREMONIAL SITTING

ON THE OCCASION

OF

ANNOUNCEMENT OF APPOINTMENT

BY

QUEEN'S COUNSEL

Coram:  MASON CJ

BRENNAN J
DEANE J

DAWSON J

AT CANBERRA ON MONDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 1991

TOOHEY J

GAUDRON J

McHUGH J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

The following Queen's Counsel were present in

Court:

Mr H.C. Berkeley, Solicitor-General for the

State of Victoria

Mr F.X. Costigan

Mr B.S.J. O'Keefe

Mr J.S. Coombs

Mr D.P. Drummond

Mr G.W. Crooke

Mr A. Chernov

Mr D. Mildren

Mr E.M. Heenan

Mr D.L. Harper

Mr D.J. Habersberger

Mr R.D. Lawson

Ms M.J. Beazley

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THE HONOURABLE JOHN R.A. DOWD, QC, Attorney-General for the

State of New South Wales:  I have the honour to

inform the Court that I have been appointed one of

Her Majesty's Counsel in and for the State of New

South Wales taking precedence next after my learned friend Wendy Louise Robinson.

MR J.K. O'REILLY, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's Counsel in and for the State of New South Wales

taking precedence next after my learned friend

Desmond Christopher Anderson.

MR M.C. RAMAGE, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's Counsel in and for the State of New South Wales

taking precedence next after my learned friend

John Kevin O'Reilly.

MR R.C. MCDOUGALL, QC: I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's

Counsel in and for the State of New South Wales

taking precedence next after my learned friend

James Poulos.

MR J.E. MACONACHIE, QC:  I have the honour to inform the

Court that I have been appointed one of Her

Majesty's Counsel in and for the State of New South

Wales taking precedence next after my learned

friend Robert Calder McDougall.

MR S.R. O'RYAN, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's

Counsel in and for the State of New South Wales

taking precedence next after my learned friend

John Edwin Maconachie.

MR J.A. TIMBS, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's Counsel in and for the State of New South Wales

taking precedence next after my learned friend

Stephen Richard O'Ryan.

MR W.R. HAYLEN, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's

Counsel in and for the State of New South Wales

taking precedence next after my learned friend

John McClemont Ireland.

MR P.M. DONOHOE, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's

Counsei in and for the State of New South Wales

taking precedence next after my learned friend

Wayne Roger Haylen.

MR A.J. SULLIVAN, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's

Counsel in and for the State of New South Wales

taking precedence next after my learned friend

Paul Michael Donohoe.

MR J. SULAN, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court that

I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's Counsel

in and for the State of South Australia taking

precedence next after my learned friend

Alexander Barclay Shand.

MR M.B. PHIPPS, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's

Counsel in and for the State of Victoria taking

precedence next after my learned friend
Peter Bardsley Murdoch.

MR P.C. DANE, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's

Counsel in and for the State of Victoria taking

precedence next after my learned friend

M.B. Phipps.

MR I.G. SUTHERLAND, OC:  I have the honour to inform the

Court that I have been appointed one of

Her Majesty's Counsel in and for the State of

Victoria taking precedence next after my learned friend Paul Christopher Dane.

MR L. LASRY, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court that

I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's Counsel

in and for the State of Victoria taking precedence

next after my learned friend I.G. Sutherland.

MR N.J. YOUNG, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's

Counsel in and for the State of Victoria taking

precedence next after my learned friend Lex Lasry.

MR K.D. DORNEY, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's

Counsel in and for the State of Queensland taking

precedence next after my learned friend

Philip Hugh Morrison

MR D.J.S. JACKSON, OC:  I have the honour to inform the

Court that I have been appointed one of

Her Majesty's Counsel in and for the State of

Queensland taking precedence next after my learned friend Kiernan Damien Dorney.

MR R.E. WILLIAMS, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's

Counsel in and for the Australian Capital Territory

taking precedence next after my learned friend

Ian Adrian Curlewis.

MR D.K. HUNT, QC:  I have the honour to inform the Court

that I have been appointed one of Her Majesty's

Counsel in and for the Australian Capital Territory

taking precedence next after my learned friend

Ronald Edwin Williams.

MASON CJ: This ceremony, at which those members of the Bar

who have just been appointed Queen's Counsel

announce their appointments, has been held regularly

since 1983. It has continued to the point where it

is now an established tradition. It arose out of

discussions between the then Chief Justice,

Sir Harry Gibbs, and representatives of the

Australian Bar Association as it was considered that the old practice of making individual ad hoc

announcements was unsatisfactory, both to the Court

and to the profession.

The ceremony is important in several respects.

It reinforces the interdependence of the Bench and
the Bar which is essential to the efficient
administration of justice in this country. It
marks the commencement of the Court's legal year by

bringing the Court and the Australian Bar together

on a significant occasion in the professional life

of the Bar as an institution and in the

professional careers of those who participate in
the ceremony. Just how significant the occasion is

in the life of the Court may be judged from the

fact that this sitting is the one regular

ceremonial sitting which the Court holds each year.

And, from the perspective of the Bar, the ceremony

marks the developing national character of the Bar.

Though it is organized along State and Territorial

lines and appointments of Queen's Counsel are
largely matters of State and Territorial concern,

the profession increasingly speaks with a national

voice and aspires to standards that are becoming

uniform nationwide.

On behalf of all the Justices of the Court I

congratulate those of you who have announced your

appointment as Queen's Counsel. Your appointment
is a recognition of your skill and experience and

evidences the high regard in which you are held in

the profession. Above all else, your appointment

indicates your quality, actual or potential, as a

leader in the sense in which that term is used
professionally.	Your past success, though no

guarantee of future success in your new role, is at

least a favourable omen of things to come.

Of course, the honour which has been conferred

upon you brings a new set of obligations.	The
courts and the legal profession have heavy
responsibilities and the way in which they

discharge those responsibilities are the subject of
ever-increasing scrutiny. If our system is to
provide an accessible system of justice for all,

counsel, particularly Queen's Counsel, as well as

judges, have a responsibility to ensure, so far as

they can, that the system is just, efficient and

accessible. Beyond that, as counsel, you have

professional obligations to the courts with which

you are familiar and obligations to the Bar as an

institution. The history of the Bar over the

centuries has been a history of constant renewal,

a process which depends on all its members,

particularly its senior members, contributing to

the general pool of knowledge and experience that

the Bar possesses as a corporate institution.

In conclusion, on behalf of the Court, I wish

you every success and satisfaction in your new

capacity.

**********