Ceremony of Farewell to the Honourable Sir Laurence
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, . 7~ "CEREMONY OF FAREWELL TO THE HONOURABLE SIR LAURENCE STREET, KCMG UPON THE oeASSION OF HIS RETIREMENT AS CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH \,"ALE5" Tuesday 1 November· 1988 .------ IN THE SUPREME COURT) ) OF NEW SOUTH WALES 1} ) BANCO COURT ) BEFORE: STREET, CJ JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT Tuesday 1 November 1988 CEREMONY OF FAREWELL TO THE HONOURABLE SIR LAURENCE STREET KCMG UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT AS CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES I will ask the president of the Court of Appeal to STREET CJ: preside at this sitting this morning. We gather here in this BancO Court under the KIRBY P: watchful eyes of the Chief Justices of the past. The crimson they wore. They symbolise the link of this robes we wear, Court to an unbroken judicial tradition of eight centuries. No Judge who sits on the bench in this courtroom can escape the searching eyes of Chief Justice Stephen or the austere glance No practitioner, surrounded by of Chief Justice Jordan. can forget the continuity of public service which it history, is the privilege of lawyers to offer. is by ancient tradition All saints' Today, 1 November, It was the day upon which for centuries the Saints, known Day. There may be few saints in this and unknown, were celebrated. Justice is not a cloistered virtue. room on this occasion. But there is surely gathered here today one of the most remarkable assemblies of lawyers and judges ever to come together in this State, indeed in this country. We are here, with one mind, to pay a heart-felt tribute to the public - 1 - I serviceservice ofof SirSir LaurenceLaurence andand LadyLady Street.Street. WeWe areare herehere toto reflect,reflect, everever soso briefly,briefly, uponupon thethe preciousprecious stability,stability, I!, continuitycontinuity andand yet changechange of our institutionsinstitutions of law,law, symbolisedsymbolised by thisthis ceremony.ceremony. II saysay thatthat thisthis isis aa remarkableremarkable assembly because it isis I rare,rare, inin thethe one courtroom, toto have thethe Chief Justice of Australia and Australia and his twotwo distinguished predecessors, Sir Garfield Barwick and Sir Harry Gibbs. Sir Anthony Mason was himselfhimself aa Judge and Judge of Appeal of this Court. InIn thatthat sensesense he isis We have one of us. We have also thethe twotwo Justices of thethe High Court who first refined i first refined theirtheir analytic skills before thethe JudgesJudges of thisthis One of Court. One of them,them, Sir William Deane, was also at one timetime We one of us. We also have thethe Chief Justice and Judges of thethe I Federal Court of Australia. Sirsir Nigel Bowen was also once a Judge of this Court. He sat with Sir Laurence Street in the I Court of Appeal. Joining us today are also the former Chief Justice, Sir John Kerr and the surviving heads of the D~visions I of the Supreme of the Supreme Court who served during the Chief Justice1s They tenure. They symbolize a company of nearly a hundred judicial colleagues who colleagues who have sat with Sir Laurence Street in his long service as a Judge of this Court. The heads of jurisdiction of the other Courts the other Courts of the State come together in this room, with other representatives of the community, elected leaders and members of the legal profession, old and new, to say farewell I to the Chief Justice. importantly, Most importantly, the family of the Chief Justice and the l families of the judges are here. They make great sacrifices. The lives of publicpUblic people are not easy. The lives of judges are lonely and demanding of time and attention.at tent jon. The families - 2 2 - 1 ~ c.,_•.•• • this watershed in the life of the Court as the share with us this watershed in the life of the Court as the fourteenth Chief Justice concludes his service. Two hundred years ago exactly, the infant colony was A criminal struggling for survival, not far from this place. court was necessary within days of the arrival. A civil court I of sorts had begun to administer justice four months later. The record showsshoWS that Judge Advocate David Collins was writing, at this very time, to the Under Secretary for Colonies, Nepean, about the difficulties of the administration of justice. He He sent was asking (surprisingly enough) for more resources. urgent request for a copy of Blackstone's Reports, for copy an urgent request for a copy of Blackstone's Reports, for copy of "whatever Acts of Parliament you may think necessary" and most earnestly of all "for any author that treats on costs". I• From the outset of the administration of justice in Australia, things. (Historical costs loomed large in the priority of Records of New South Wales, vall part 2, 1982, sydney, 210). Some things do not change. A hundred years ago the debates of The Bulletin were termination of Privy council appeals and the about the termination of Privy council appeals and the establishment of a local Court of Appeal which would be more particularly those many under available to Australians sentence of death. (See The Bulletin,13 October 1888, 4 "Wanted -A- A Court of Appeal"). The High Court of Australia was to come within fifteen years. The establishment of the Court The abolition of Privy council appeals I of Appeal took eighty. took almost exactly a century. Sometimes, in the law, we do I not rush things. " I have mentioned these matters of history because history - 3 - History isis thethe keykey toto ceremony isis about.about. History is whatwhat thisthis ceremony is of our Chief the motive force ofof thethe publicpublic lifelife of our Chief the motive force understandingunderstanding it be again recorded, Everyone here knowS,knows, butbut letlet it be again recorded, Everyone here Justice.Justice. They alsoalso Justice. They is the son and grandsongrandson ofof aa ChiefChief Justice. is the son and thatthat hehe the last central seat which he nownow occupiesoccupies forfor the last seat which he inin thethe central satsat the retirement It was remarked by Sir WilliamWilliam owen,Owen, onon the retirement remarked by Sir time.time. It was thirty years ago: of his fatherfather justjust over thirty years ago: of his the I think, has itit happenedhappened inin the I think, has have "Never"Never before,before, world that fatherfather andand sonson have world that and in English-speaking Bench atat thethe samesame timetime and in the same Bench son has satsat on the same Chief Justice. TheThe son has turn hashas becomebecome Chief tradition". turn a greatgreat familyfamily tradition". worthily upheld a worthily v. (1959) 5959 SR (NSW)(NSWl v. (1959) itit isis been equalled, former recordrecord has ever been equalled, If thethe former appointment the achievement which sirSir Laurence1sLaurence1s appointment that the achievement unlikely that world. InIn will ever be paralleled inin thethe commoncommon lawlaw world. ever be paralleled signalled, will a But it isis soso remarkableremarkable a never. But it one can rarely say never. the law, one The chance considerations phenomenon as to suggest uniqueness. phenomenon of jUdges was the appointment and elevation of judges was the appointment which affect - lamenting that mentioned by Sir Owen Dixon in his farewell - lamenting that Sir Owen Dixon mentioned by High Court. See Jordan and Cuss were never appointed to the High Court. See Cussenen were never Jordan and of the Therefore, with all the chances of the 110 CLR v, xi. Therefore, (1963-4) 110 the land which has disdained an aristocracy, the which has disdained in a land world and It may be remarkable. It Chief Justice's elevation was the more remarkable. Justice's elevation Chief capacities as a attributed to the recognition of his shining capacities as a to the recognition attributed instance. judge of first instance. energetic and imaginative creative, energetic him to appear before Every practitioner who had the privilege to appear before him Every practitioner an indelible memory in those far off days, will bear to the end an indelible memory off days, will i in those far He was He was swift and efficient. He was swift of his performance. of He was equalled by none in his He was equalled painstaking. courteouscourteoUs and painstaking. \ I - .- I~., _ ! • \ I i capacity to deliver an ex tempore judgment which marshalled the facts, expounded the law and reached conclusions which were generally accepted by the parties or upheld on appeal. His talents, as well as his public service in many other fields of endeavour, recommended him to the Government of the day to succeed Sir John Kerr on his appointment as Governor General. To these qualifications must be added the grace with which he was able to carryon the public and ceremonial Those skills, often under valued in our , functions of a judge. , deprecative country, are important to us, lawyers. We are more conscious than most of the importance of institutions and the need for unobtrusive ceremony as a support for the rule of law. Yet to talk of these externalities does insufficient ; tribute to the intellectual contribution of the Chief Justice. It is recorded in the pages of the law reports, which for 75 years of this century provide a published diary of the Street family. There are many notable contributions by Sir Laurence > The most often spoken of is his innovative in those pages. He was determined that development of the declaratory order. the remedies offered by the courts should be kept bright and in the footsteps of great shining. In this sense he trod He realized the vital importance of procedure and forebears.