The Judges of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island are generally appointed from among Justices of the Federal Court who may sit on the Australian mainland or they may convene the court on Norfolk Island depending on the type of matter they may be dealing with.
Supreme Court sittings are generally conducted on a circuit court basis with Judges attending on Norfolk Island where the volume of work may be sufficient to justify the travel or where a regular court sitting has not been convened for some time or where the law governing a particular matter may require that the court be convened on Norfolk Island and not elsewhere (e.g. most criminal law matters except sexual offences which may now be tried off-island).
The Court staff are generally resident on Norfolk Island.
- List of Judges (including Chief Justices)
Position | Name | Appointment commenced |
Appointment ended |
Term | Comments | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chief Judge | Russell Fox AC, QC | 22 January 1982 | 31 March 1989 | 7 years, 68 days | Federal Court | |
Trevor Morling | 9 May 1989 | 1 February 1993 | 3 years, 268 days years | Federal Court | ||
Chief Justice | Bryan Beaumont AO | 6 July 1993 | 2 August 2004 | 11 years, 27 days | Federal Court | |
Mark Weinberg | 16 December 2004 | 19 July 2008 | 3 years, 216 days | Federal Court ACT Supreme Court |
||
Peter Jacobson | 12 December 2008 | 25 January 2015 | 6 years, 44 days | Federal Court | ||
Anthony Besanko | 26 February 2015 | 7 May 2024 | 9 years, 71 days | Federal Court ACT Supreme Court |
||
Robert Bromwich | 7 May 2024 | 226 days | Federal Court | |||
Judge | Sir Richard Eggleston KC | 27 October 1960 | 1969 | 8–9 years | Commonwealth Industrial Court (1960–1974) ACT Supreme Court (1960–1974) |
|
Sir Percy Joske CMG | 10 December 1965 | 31 December 1977 | 12 years, 21 days | Commonwealth Industrial Court (1960–1977) ACT Supreme Court (1960–1977) NT Supreme Court (1961–1977) |
||
Edward Dunphy KC | 17 March 1969 | 31 December 1982 | 13 years, 289 days | Commonwealth Industrial Court (1956–1982) ACT Supreme Court (1958–1982) Supreme Court of Christmas Island (1961–1982) Supreme Court of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands (1961–1982) Court of Appeal of Nauru (1967–1982) |
||
Robert St John | 2 August 1978 | 31 March 1985 | 6 years, 241 days | Federal Court Australian Industrial Court ACT Supreme Court NT Supreme Court |
||
Phillip Evatt DSC | 11 February 1981 | 28 February 1987 | 6 years, 4 days | Federal Court | ||
Trevor Morling QC | 8 March 1984 | 1 February 1993 | 8 years, 330 days | Federal Court | ||
Murray Wilcox AO, QC | 6 July 1993 | 2 October 2006 | 13 years, 88 days | Chief Justice of Industrial Relations Court Federal Court ACT Supreme Court |
||
Bryan Beaumont AO | 1989 | 2004 | 14–15 years | Federal Court | ||
Susan Kiefel AC | 16 December 2004 | 3 September 2007 | 2 years, 261 days | Federal Court | ||
Peter Jacobson | 28 June 2007 | 25 January 2015 | 7 years, 211 days | Federal Court | ||
Garry Downes AM | 10 April 2008 | 15 May 2012 | 4 years, 35 days | Federal Court | ||
Bruce Lander | 12 December 2008 | 31 August 2013 | 4 years, 262 days | Federal Court ACT Supreme Court |
||
Robert Buchanan KC | 2013 | 10 September 2016 | 2–3 years | Federal Court | ||
Anthony Besanko | 5 August 2013 | 11 years, 136 days | Federal Court ACT Supreme Court |
|||
John Gilmour | 26 February 2015 | 9 years, 297 days | Federal Court | |||
Michael Wigney | 15 June 2017 | 7 years, 187 days | Federal Court ACT Supreme Court |
|||
Steven Rares | 12 June 2018 | 6 years, 190 days | Federal Court ACT Supreme Court Supreme Court of Norfolk Island Admiralty Rules Committee |
|
References
- "Appointment of Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island" (PDF). Cth Gazette. 17 March 1969. p. 2686.
- "Judges appointed". The Canberra Times. 13 May 1989. p. 4. Retrieved 17 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Federal Court of Australia judicial changes the first 30 years (1977-2007)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2017.
- ^ "Judicial Appointments for Norfolk Island". Australian Government. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/mcbain/media-release/new-chief-justice-supreme-court-norfolk-island
- "Appointment of the Honourable Richard Moulton Eggleston as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island" (PDF). Cth Gazette. 1 December 1960. p. 4133.
- "Appointment of the Honourable Percy Joske as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island" (PDF). Cth Gazette. 13 January 1966. p. 70.
- "Appointment of the Honourable Edward Arthur Dunphy as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island" (PDF). Cth Gazette. 17 March 1969. p. 2686.
- "Appointment of the Honourable Robert St John as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island" (PDF). Cth Gazette. 22 August 1978. p. 9.
- "Appointment of the Honourable Phillip George Evatt as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island" (PDF). Cth Gazette. 24 February 1981. pp. 2–3.
- "Appointment of the Honourable Trevor Morling as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island" (PDF). Cth Gazette. 20 March 1984. p. 1042.
- "Federal Court of Australia Annual Report 2013-14" (PDF). Federal Court. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- "Federal Court of Australia Annual Report 2016-17" (PDF). Federal Court. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- "Appointments and remuneration pursuant to the Order of the Senate for the period: 2 October 2018 to 28 January 2019". The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- "Steven David Rares : Government Online Directory". Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- "Biography of Justice Steven Rares". Federal Court of Australia. Retrieved 18 January 2020.