QCs CER

[1999] HCATrans 2

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

CEREMONIAL SITTING

ON THE OCCASION

OF

ANNOUNCEMENT OF APPOINTMENTS

OF

QUEEN’S COUNSEL AND SENIOR COUNSEL

Coram:            GLEESON CJ

GAUDRON J
McHUGH J
GUMMOW J
KIRBY J
HAYNE J
CALLINAN J

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS

AT CANBERRA ON MONDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 1999, AT 3.33 PM

In addition to the members of the Court the following dignitaries were present on the Bench:

Chief Justice Gubbay, Chief Justice of Zimbabwe
Justice Ebrahim
Justice Chidyausiku

The following Queen’s Counsel and Senior Counsel were present in Court:

Mr D.M.J. Bennett, QC, Solicitor-General for the Commonwealth of Australia

Mr I. Barker, QC, President of The New South Wales Bar Association

Mr M. Gray, QC, President of The South Australian Bar Association

Mr R. Gotterson, QC, President of the Australian Bar Association and President of the Bar Association of Queensland

Mr D. Curtain, QC, Chairman of The Victorian Bar

Mr D. Porter, QC, President of the Tasmanian Bar Association

Mr H.C. Burmester, QC

Mr R.P. Greenhill, SC

Mr A.J. Bartley, SC

Mr R.P. McLoughlin, SC

Mr P. Roberts, SC

Mr G. Inatey, SC

Mr S. Crawshaw, SC

Mr A.C.A. Bridge, SC

Mr D.H. Murr, SC

Mr I.M. Wales, SC

Mr M.G. Rudge, SC

Mr M. Walton, SC

Mr B.J. Sullivan, SC

Mr G. O’L. Reynolds, SC

Mr R.W. White, SC

Mr P.LeG. Brereton, SC

Mr G.C. Martin, SC

Mr R.J. Douglas, SC

Mr M.D. Hinson, SC

Ms E.M. O’Reilly, SC

Mr G.A. Thompson, SC

Ms D.A. Mullins, SC

Mr D.V.C. McMeekin, SC

Mr R.L.B. Van De Wiel, QC

Mr J.D. McArdle, QC

Mr M. Bartfeld, QC

Mr J.H.L. Forrest, QC

Mr G.J. Davies, QC

Mr R.M. Downing, QC

Mr E.P.A. Moran, QC

Mr P.J. Bick, QC

Mr C.M. Maxwell, QC

Mr O.P. Holdenson, QC

Ms N. Johnson, QC

Ms W.J. Abraham, QC

GLEESON CJ:   Mr Solicitor for the Commonwealth.

MR BENNETT:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that Henry Clifford Burmester has been appointed as one of Her Majesty’s Counsel for the Commonwealth of Australia.

GLEESON CJ:   Thank you, Mr Solicitor.  Mr Barker, President of The New South Wales Bar Association.

MR BARKER:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that I have appointed the following members of the Bar here present as Senior Counsel for the State of New South Wales.

They are:

Robert Patrick Greenhill who appears in the Bar list next after Peter Raymond Hennessy

Anthony John Bartley who appears in the Bar list next after Robert Patrick Greenhill

Raymond Patrick McLoughlin who appears in the Bar list next after Anthony John Bartley

Paul Roberts who appears in the Bar list next after Raymond Patrick McLoughlin

George Inatey who appears in the Bar list next after Paul Roberts

Steven Crawshaw who appears in the Bar list next after George Inatey

Alan Campbell Andrew Bridge who appears in the Bar list next after Steven Crawshaw

David Henry Murr who appears in the Bar list next after Alan Campbell Andrew Bridge

Ian Milton Wales who appears in the Bar list next after David Henry Murr

Michael Geoffrey Rudge who appears in the Bar list next after Ian Milton Wales

Matthew Walton who appears in the Bar list next after Michael Geoffrey Rudge

Brendan James Sullivan who appears in the Bar list next after Michael Gerard Sexton

Guy O’Loghlen Reynolds who appears in the Bar list next after Rodney Michael Smith

Richard Weeks White who appears in the Bar list next after Guy O’Loghlen Reynolds

Paul Le Gay Brereton who appears in the Bar list next after Richard Weeks White

GLEESON CJ:   Thank you, Mr President.  Mr Gotterson, President of the Bar Association of Queensland.

MR GOTTERSON:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that the following members of the Bar here present have been appointed as Senior Counsel for the State of Queensland

They are:

Glenn Charles Martin who ranks in seniority after John Richard Baulch

Richard John Douglas who ranks in seniority after Glenn Charles Martin

Mark David Hinson who ranks in seniority after Richard John Douglas

Elizabeth Madonna O’Reilly who ranks in seniority after Mark David Hinson

Gavin Alexander Thompson who ranks in seniority after Elizabeth Madonna O’Reilly

Debra Ann Mullins who ranks in seniority after Gavin Alexander Thompson

Duncan Vincent Cook McMeekin who ranks in seniority after Debra Ann Mullins

GLEESON CJ:   Thank you, Mr Gotterson.  Mr Curtain, Chairman of The Victorian Bar.

MR CURTAIN:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that the following members of the Bar here present have been appointed as Her Majesty’s Counsel for the State of Victoria.

They are:

Remigius Louis Bernardus Van de Wiel who ranks in seniority after Neil James Williams

John Dermot McArdle who ranks in seniority after Remigius Louis Bernardus Van de Wiel

Martin Bartfeld who ranks in seniority after John Dermot McArdle

John Herbert Lytton Forrest who ranks in seniority after Martin Bartfeld

Gregory John Davies who ranks in seniority after John Herbert Lytton Forrest

Rowan Milton Downing who ranks in seniority after Gregory John Davies

Eamonn Patrick Aquinas Moran who ranks in seniority after Rowan Milton Downing

Peter Jeffrey Bick who ranks in seniority after Eamonn Patrick Aquinas Moran

Christopher Murray Maxwell who ranks in seniority after Alexandra Richards

Oliver Paul Holdenson who ranks in seniority after Christopher Murray Maxwell

GLEESON CJ:   Thank you, Mr Curtain.  Mr Gotterson.

MR GOTTERSON:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that Narelle Johnson who ranks in seniority after Carmel Joy McLure has been appointed as Her Majesty’s Counsel for the State of Western Australia.

GLEESON CJ:   Thank you, Mr Gotterson.  Mr Gray, President of The South Australian Bar Association.

MR GRAY:   May it please the Court, I inform the Court that Wendy Jane Abraham who ranks in seniority after Steven Andrew Strickland has been appointed as Her Majesty’s Counsel for the State of South Australia.

GLEESON CJ:   Thank you, Mr Gray.  Does any member of the Bar move?

On behalf of all the members of the Court I congratulate the newly appointed Queen’s Counsel and Senior Counsel upon the important mark of professional achievement implicit in your appointments.

Before going further I should mention that we have with us on the bench this afternoon the Chief Justice of Zimbabwe, Chief Justice Gubbay, and Justices Ebrahim and Chidyausiku.  They are most welcome to Australia, and to Canberra, and we are delighted that they have been able to join us for this occasion.

For many years it has been the practice of newly appointed Senior Counsel to make formal announcements of their appointment to the Supreme Court of the State in respect of which their commissions have been granted.  The practice of holding a formal ceremony in the High Court in Canberra at the commencement of law term for the purpose of making such announcements was reinstated in 1996.  It signifies the development of a national Bar, although it is important to remember that our nation is organised as a Federation, and this still has considerable significance for the organisation of the court system and the legal profession.  Although senior barristers are still appointed Queen’s Counsel or Senior Counsel for a particular state or territory, or a number of states or territories, there are arrangements for reciprocity which have the practical consequence that appointment in one jurisdiction is recognised in the others.  When I was Chief Justice of New South Wales I was involved in the making of those arrangements, and it is a source of satisfaction to see them bearing fruit.

Appointment as Senior Counsel has never been regarded in any Australian jurisdiction as something to which a barrister is entitled after a sufficient length of time.  Rather, it is a formal recognition of professional eminence granted to those whose learning skill and ability is regarded by their professional peers, and by the relevant appointing authority, as warranting such a distinction.

Appointment as Senior Counsel carries with it substantial responsibilities, as well as privileges.  You now occupy roles of leadership in your profession.  Your conduct will be taken as an example by your juniors.  Solicitors, members of the public, and courts, will place special reliance on your professional ability and, as a rule, the work you will be given to do, and the cases you will conduct, will be more onerous than before.  The particular reliance placed by courts upon the skill and ability of counsel, and especially Senior Counsel, is something that has existed in the administration of the common law for centuries.  Lord Mansfield’s biographer records that following his retirement from the Bench the Bar sent a deputation to him to express sentiments of goodwill and gratitude for the work that he had done in his judicial capacity.  He dictated his reply to the messenger who came to see him and in his reply he said that if he had achieved success as a judge it was largely owing to what he described as “the learning and candour of the Bar”.  He said:

The liberality and integrity of their practice freed the judicial investigation of truth and justice from many difficulties.  The memory of the assistance I have received from them and the deep impression which the extraordinary mark they have now given me of their approbation and affection has made upon my mind will be a source of perpetual consolation in my decline of life under the pressure of bodily infirmities which made it my duty to retire.

You have reached a milestone in your professional careers, and you will now all be faced with new challenges and new opportunities.

Some of you have been accompanied on this occasion by members of your family and friends and the Court is delighted to welcome their participation in this significant and happy occasion.

I trust that each of you will find personal and professional satisfaction in your new rank.  Thank you for your courtesy in informing the Court of your appointments.  The Court will now adjourn.

AT 3.45 PM THE COURT ADJOURNED