The Judiciary

This page provides Australian resources on the topics of:

  • judicial appointment; and
  • judicial misbehaviour or incapacity.

The Centre welcomes suggestions for new or updated resources that might be added to this page. These should be sent to the Centre Administrator at gtcentre@unsw.edu.au

Government Pages

Commonwealth

Attorney-General’s Department – Court Appointments

New South Wales

New South Wales Government - Justice

Victoria

Court Services Victoria – Court Appointments

Tasmania

Department of Justice – Protocol of Judicial Appointments

Australian Capital Territory

ACT Judicial Appointments Process

Reports

Commonwealth

Attorney-General’s Department, Discussion Paper: Judicial Appointments – Procedure and Criteria (1993)

Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Parliament of Australia, Gender Bias and the Judiciary (1994)

Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, Parliament of Australia, Australia’s Judicial System and the Role of Judges (2009)

Northern Territory

Hon John Doyle AC QC, Julie-Ann Schafer and Michael Grant QC, Review of the Processes for the Appointment of Judicial Officers in The Northern Territory, December 2014

Queensland

Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Review of the Judicial Appointments Process in Queensland – Discussion Paper, October 2015

Victoria

Judicial Appointments Review – 2010 Discussion Paper and Submissions

Selected speeches, research papers and articles

Cape Town Principles on the Role of Independent Commissions in the Selection and Appointment of Judges

Judicial Conference of Australia, Judicial Appointments – A Comparative Study (April 2015)

Jan van Zyl Smit, The Appointment, Tenure and Removal of Judges under Commonwealth Principles: A Compendium and Analysis of Best Practice (Report of Research Undertaken by Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law), July 2015

Elizabeth Handsley and Andrew Lynch ‘‘Facing up to Diversity? Transparency and the Reform of Commonwealth Judicial Appointments 2008-13’ (2015) 37 Sydney Law Review 187

Andrew Lynch, ‘Campbell Newman’s Most Contentious LegacyInside Story (8 April 2015)

Andrew Lynch, ‘Chief Justice Carmody and the ‘merit principle’’ Inside Story (18 August 2014)

Justice Stephen Gageler ‘Judicial Appointment’ (2008) 30 Sydney Law Review 159

Simon Evans and John Williams, ‘Appointing Australian Judges: A New Model’ (2008) 30 Sydney Law Review 295

Andrew Lynch, ‘Chief Justice Carmody and the ‘merit principle’’ Inside Story (18 August 2014)

Justice Ruth McColl, ‘Judicial Appointment’ (2008) 30 Sydney Law Review 155

Justice Michael McHugh, ‘Women Justices for the High Court’ (Speech delivered at the High Court Dinner, 27 October 2004)

Justice Philip McMurdo, ‘Hot Topics’ (Speech to the Supreme and Federal Courts Judge’s Conference, Darwin, 9 July 2014)

Sir Anthony Mason, ‘The Appointment and Removal of Judges’ Fragile Bastion – Judicial Independence in the Nineties and Beyond, Judicial Commission of New South Wales,1997

Chief Justice Wayne Martin, ‘Judicial Appointments and Judicial Independence’ (Speech to the Law Council of Australia Conference – Rule of Law: The Challenges of a Changing World, Brisbane, 31 August 2007)

Lenny Roth, ‘Judicial Appointments’ (Briefing Paper No 3/2012, Parliamentary Library, Parliament of New South Wales, 2012)

George Williams, ‘High Court Appointments: The Need for Reform’ (2008) 30 Sydney Law Review 163

Government Pages and Legislation

Commonwealth

Constitution 1901 (Cth) s 72

Judicial Misbehaviour and Incapacity (Parliamentary Commissions) Act 2012(Cth)

Legislation Amendment (Judicial Complaints) Act 2012 (Cth)

New South Wales

Judicial Officers Act 1986 (NSW)

Judicial Commission of New South Wales

Victoria

Constitution Act1975 (Vic)

Western Australia

Constitution Act 1889 (WA)

Supreme Court Act 1935 (WA)

Department of the Attorney General (WA), Protocol for Complaints against Judicial Officers in WesternAustralian Courts (August 2007)

Queensland

Constitution of Queensland 2001 (Qld)

Tasmania

Supreme Court (Judges’ Independence) Act 1857 (Tas)

South Australia

Constitution Act 1934 (SA)

Commonwealth Reports

Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, Parliament of Australia, Australia’s Judicial System and the Role of Judges (2009)

Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, Parliament of Australia, Advisory report: Judicial Misbehaviour and Incapacity (Parliamentary Commissions) Bill 2012 and Courts Legislation Amendment (Judicial Complaints) Bill 2012 (2012)

Australian Law Reform Commission, Managing Justice: A Review of the Federal Civil Justice System (ALRC Report 89) (2000)

State Inquiries and Reports

South Australian Attorney-General’s Department, Consultation on Establishment of Judicial Conduct Commissioner (2015)

Law Reform Commission of Western Australia, Complaints Against Judiciary (2013)

Law Reform Commission of Western Australia, Complaints against the Judiciary, Discussion Paper No 102 (2012)

Selected speeches, research papers and articles

Jan van Zyl Smit, The Appointment, Tenure and Removal of Judges under Commonwealth Principles: A Compendium and Analysis of Best Practice (Report of Research Undertaken by Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law), July 2015

Gabrielle Appleby and Suzanne Le Mire, ‘Judicial Conduct: Crafting A System That Enhances Institutional Integrity’(2014) 38 Melbourne University Law Review 1

Gabrielle Appleby  and Suzanne Le Mire, ‘A Spotlight on Judicial Regulation in Australia’ (2014) 17 Legal Ethics 299

Michael Kirby, ‘Judicial Stress and Judicial Bullying’(Speech delivered at the National Forum on Wellness for Law, 21 February 2013, Melbourne Law School)

Ronald Sackville AO QC, ‘Judicial Ethics and Judicial Misbehaviour: Two Sides of the One Coin?’ (2009) 3 Public Space: The Journal of Law and Social Justice 1

Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration, Guide to Judicial Conduct (2nd ed, 2007)

Judicial Conference of Australia, Selected Reports and Publications

David Wood, Judicial Ethics: A Discussion Paper (prepared for Australian Institute of Judicial Administration) (1996)