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Queensland Legal year in review
January
1 Ian Brown commenced his term as president of Queensland Law Society with Michael Fitzgerald as vice president.
13 New regional magistrates, Steven Mosch (Townsville), Aaron Simpson (Ipswich) and Simon Young (Caboolture) were sworn in.
20 His Honour Judge Marshall Irwin retired as a judge of the District Court of Queensland. A profile of his Honour appears at [2014] QLY 451.
26 Australia Day Honours were awarded to the Hon Justice Robert Gotterson AO.
February
7 The report from the Queensland Racing Commission of Inquiry, with the Hon Margaret White AO as Commissioner, was presented to the State Government.
20 The Hon Justice Margaret Wilson presented a paper at the conclusion of the first Bar Association of Queensland Bar Practice Course for 2014 entitled ‘Barrister and Solicitor: a symbiotic relationship in the interests of the client’. The paper appears at [2014] QLY 200.
21 Adjunct Professor Frank Brennan presented a paper at the Queensland Law Society’s annual dinner entitled ‘Too much order with too little law: Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie, the Hon Margaret thirty years on’. The paper appears at White AO and Minister for Sport and Racing Steve Dickson pose with findings from the Queensland Racing Commission of [2014] QLY 208. Inquiry in Brisbane, Friday 7 February 2014. Photography Dan Peled, AAP.
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26 Chief Justice Paul de Jersey AC was announced as the next Queensland Governor.
Demolition work commenced at the former Supreme and District Courts complex on George Street.
27 The Hon Justice John H Byrne AO RFD presented a paper entitled ‘Countering judicial corruption’ to the G20 Anti- Corruption Working Group Meeting, Sydney. The paper appears at [2014] QLY 214.
March
7-9 The Bar Association of Queensland’s th Demolition of the former Supreme and District Courts complex 10 annual Bar conference was held on commences. Photography SCLQ the Gold Coast. The conference theme was ‘Tomorrow’s Bar Today’.
13 Brett Peter Cowan was found guilty of the murder of Daniel Morcombe. Cowan was sentenced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility set at 20 years. The Court of Appeal heard concurrent appeals from Cowan and the Queensland Attorney-General in November. Both appeals were dismissed. See R v Cowan; R v Cowan, ex parte Attorney-General [2015] QCA 87.
(L-R) Denise Morcombe, Bruce Morcombe, Bradley Morcombe and Dean Morcombe arrive at the Supreme Court in Brisbane on day 18 of the trial of Brett Peter Cowan. Photography News Ltd/Newspix.
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19 Queensland Solicitor-General Walter Sofronoff QC resigned, subsequently calling on the Attorney-General, Mr Jarrod Bleijie, to resign.
The first seminar of the ‘Current Contemporary Constitutional Controversies’ colloquium, organised by the T C Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland, was held in the Supreme Court Library. Professor Patrick Parkinson AM presented a paper entitled ‘The territory of marriage: constitutional law, marriage law and family policy in the ACT same sex marriage case’. Commentary was provided by Walter Sofronoff QC. The paper was subsequently published at (2014) 28 Australian Journal of Family Law 160.
21 The Hon Justice Margaret McMurdo AC addressed the Queensland women judicial officers and barristers at the Inns of Court with a paper entitled ‘A report card on gender equality at the Queensland Bar and Bench and the invisible women’. The address appears at [2014] QLY 219.
21-22 The Queensland Law Society Symposium 2014 was held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. The symposium was opened with an address from Chief Justice Paul de Jersey AC. The transcript of this address appears at [2014] QLY 224.
April
2 In Thiess v Collector of Customs [2014] HCA 12, the High Court held that s 167(4) of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth) barred a restitutionary claim to recover overpaid customs duties, affirming the judgment of the Court of Appeal at [2013] QCA 54.
10 Peter Dunning QC was appointed Queensland Solicitor-General.
11 The Hon Justice Margaret Wilson resigned as a judge of the Supreme Court. A biographical profile of her Honour appears at [2014] QLY 442.
16 Dr Eva Micheler, Reader in Law at the London School of Economics, and Professor at the Vienna University of Economics, presented a paper entitled ‘Disguised returns of capital: developments in English law’ in the Gibbs Room, Bar Association of Queensland. The Hon Justice Nye Perram commented on the paper and provided Australian perspectives.
23 The 2014 Supreme Court Oration was delivered by Professor Dame Hazel Genn DBE QC (Hon) in the Banco Court. The paper was entitled ‘Do-it-yourself justice: the challenge of self-representation in the English courts’. A transcript of the paper The Hon Paul de Jersey AC, Chief Justice of Queensland, introduces appears at [2014] QLY 228. Dame Hazel Genn DBE QC (Hon) at the 2014 Supreme Court Oration. Photography SCLQ.
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May
2 Emmanuel College’s 9th Annual Sir Harry Gibbs Law Lecture was delivered in the Banco Court, with Chief Justice Paul de Jersey AC presenting the paper ‘The Gibbs Imprint at the Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law’.
8 The Bar Association of Queensland’s ‘Current Legal Issues’ seminar series commenced in the Banco Court with a lecture delivered by the Hon Dyson Heydon AC QC, and commentary by Professor Stefan Vogenauer. The paper, ‘The objective approach to statutory interpretation: views from abroad’ appears at [2014] QLY 152.
21 The Hon James Barry passed away at the age of 69. A tribute appears at [2014] QLY 310.
June
9 Queen’s Birthday honours were awarded to her Honour Chief Judge Patricia Wolfe AO.
12 The appointment of his Honour Judge Timothy Carmody QC as Chief Justice of Queensland was announced at a media conference in the Supreme Court Library.
13 Peter Davis QC resigned as president of the Bar Association of Queensland because of concern about the process by which the new Chief Justice was appointed. Shane Doyle QC, as the former vice president of the Association, commenced to serve as president of the Newly announced Queensland Chief Justice Timothy Carmody Association. (centre), flanked by Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie (right) and Premier Campbell Newman, speaks during the announcement at the Supreme Court Library in Brisbane, Thursday 12 June 2014. 18 The Supreme Court Library exhibition Photography Dan Peled, AAP. ‘Path to abolition: a history of execution in Queensland’ was officially opened in the Sir Harry Gibbs Legal Heritage Centre. The Hon Ian Callinan AC QC and Soraya Ryan QC presented papers on the history of capital punishment in Queensland in the Banco Court. These papers appear at [2014] QLY 38, 50.
18 The Hon Justice John Muir delivered a paper to the bi-annual Court of Appeal dinner of the North Queensland Bar Association. This paper appears at [2014] QLY 241.
19 In Williams v Commonwealth of Australia [2014] HCA 23, the High Court in its original jurisdiction upheld a challenge by a Toowoomba father to the validity of payments made by the Commonwealth to Scripture Union Queensland in respect of its school chaplaincy program.
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20 The Queensland Chapter of the Selden Society held its annual meeting in the Supreme Court judges’ conference room in the Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law. Chief Justice Paul de Jersey AC’s speech entitled ‘Sir Samuel Griffith and Sir Harry Gibbs and the Order of St Michael and St George’ appears, with a paper by Helen Jeffcoat, at [2014] QLY 248.
23 The Bar Association of Queensland publicly expressed concern about the course of events relating to the appointment of the new Chief Justice and respectfully requested the nominee to reconsider whether to take up the appointment.
27 A valedictory ceremony for the Hon Paul de Jersey AC, Chief Justice of Queensland, was held in the Banco Court. His Honour formally resigned office on 8 July. A transcript of this ceremony appears at [2014] QLY 330. A biographical profile of his Honour appears at [2014] QLY 440.
Peter Flanagan QC was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. A biographical profile of his Honour appears at [2014] QLY 443.
29 Frank Glynn Connolly passed away aged 98. A tribute appears at [2014] QLY 314.
The Hon Chief Justice Paul de Jersey AC at his valedictory ceremony in the Banco Court. Photography Phillip Norrish, News Ltd/Newspix.
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July
8 His Honour Judge Timothy Carmody QC was appointed as Queensland’s 18th Chief Justice. A profile of his Honour appears at [2014] QLY 441.
Magistrate Orazio (Ray) Rinaudo was appointed as a judge of the District Court, to serve as Chief Magistrate. A biographical profile of his Honour appears at [2014] QLY 456. Leanne O’Shea was appointed Deputy Chief Magistrate. A transcript of the Chief Magistrate's and Deputy Chief Magistrate's welcoming ceremony on 16 July is at [2014] QLY The Hon Chief Justice Timothy Carmody 385. at the Cathedral of St Stephen in Brisbane for the annual Opening of the Law Year Church Service. Photography Adam 14 The annual Opening of the Law Year Church Service Armstrong/Newspix. was held at the Cathedral of St Stephen, Elizabeth Street, Brisbane.
15 Gerard Baden-Clay was found guilty of the murder of his wife Allison Baden-Clay. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility set at 15 years. Baden- Clay lodged an appeal two days after he was convicted.
17 The second ‘Current Legal Issues’ seminar for 2014 was held in the Banco Court. Peter Davis QC presented a paper entitled ‘The right to silence: implications from the X7 case’, with commentary by Tony Moynihan QC. The paper appears at [2014] QLY 168. Family and friends of Allison Baden- Clay release yellow balloons outside 29 The Hon Paul de Jersey AC commenced his appointment as the Supreme Court in Brisbane, after the 26th Governor of Queensland. Gerard Baden-Clay was found guilty of murdering wife Allison Baden-Clay. Photography Jack Tran/Newspix. Professor Lucia Zedner FBA of the University of Oxford and Conjoint Professor, Faculty of Law, UNSW presented an Australian Academy of Law address in the Banco Court, Supreme Court of Queensland. The paper, entitled ‘Preventive justice and the rule of law’, appears at [2014] QLY 256.
30 Professor Joshua Getzler of the University of Oxford presented a paper to the Bar Association of Queensland entitled ‘Ascribing and limiting fiduciary obligations: understanding the operation of consent’. This paper appears in Andrew S Gold and Paul B Miller (eds), Former Queensland Chief Justice Paul Philosophical Foundations of Fiduciary Law (Oxford de Jersey AC, is sworn in as Governor of Queensland at Parliament House University Press, 2014). in Brisbane, Tuesday 29 July 2014. Photography Dan Peled/AAP.
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Chief Justice Timothy Carmody and Justice Peter Flanagan at a public welcoming ceremony in Brisbane, Friday 1 August 2014. Photography Jack Tran/AAP/The Courier-Mail.
August
1 A welcoming ceremony for the Chief Justice and Justice Flanagan was held in the Banco Court. A transcript of this ceremony appears at [2014] QLY 343.
The Hon Justice David Jackson was appointed chairperson of the Queensland Law Reform Commission. Other commissioners appointed were the Hon Margaret Wilson QC, Peter Hastie QC, Professor Peter McDermott RFD and Ms Samantha Traves. The Hon Margaret Wilson QC was also appointed as a justice of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands for five years.
7 John McKenna QC presented the first Selden Society (Australian chapter) lecture for 2014 in the Supreme Court Library. The paper, entitled ‘The modern use of legal history’, appears at [2014] QLY 74.
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14 In Pollentine v Bleijie [2014] HCA 30, the High Court in its original jurisdiction dismissed a challenge to the validity of s 18 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1945 (Qld), which authorises indeterminate detention of certain sexual offenders.
23 Cedric Hampson AO QC passed away at the age of 81. A tribute appears at [2014] QLY 318.
28 The third ‘Current Legal Issues’ seminar for 2014 was held in the Banco Court. Professor David McLauchlan presented a paper entitled ‘Some issues in the law of contract interpretation in Australia’, with a commentary by Declan Kelly QC.
September
11 Dr Dominic O’Sullivan QC gave the second Selden Society (Australian chapter) lecture for 2014 in the Supreme Court Library. The paper was entitled ‘The nominate reports’ and appears at [2014] QLY 90.
18 The Supreme Court Library’s exhibition ‘Innocent diversions: Australian legal ‘Innocent Diversions’ exhibition in the Sir Harry Gibbs Legal fashion’ opened in the Sir Harry Gibbs Heritage Centre. Photography Greg Henderson, SCLQ. Legal Heritage Centre, Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law, Brisbane. The exhibition was launched with an address by Thomas Bradley QC, introduced by the Hon Margaret White AO. The paper appears at [2014] QLY 60.
22 The Right Honourable Lord Dyson, Master of the Rolls, presented the fourth Current Legal Issues seminar for 2014 (the AIJA Oration) in the Banco Court. Guests at the AIJA Oration. L to R: the Hon Justice Peter Applegarth, the Hon Justice Susan Kiefel AC, the Right The oration was entitled ‘The Jackson Hon Lord Dyson, the Hon Justice Margaret McMurdo AC, reforms and civil justice’. The paper the Hon Justice Patrick Keane AC, the Hon Justice Robert Gotterson AO and her Honour Chief Judge Patsy Wolfe AO. appears at [2014] QLY 188. Photography Bar Association of Queensland.
October
2 The Hon C W Pincus QC passed away at the age of 79. A tribute appears at [2014] QLY 324.
The third Selden Society lecture for 2014 was held in the Supreme Court Library. Roger Derrington QC spoke on the subject of ‘The modern authorised law reports and their digests’. The lecture is published at [2014] QLY 113.
16 A valedictory ceremony was held to mark the retirement of her Honour Chief Judge Patricia Wolfe AO. A transcript of this ceremony appears at [2014] QLY 367. A biographical profile of her Honour appears at [2014] QLY 449.
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18 The Hon Judge David Robin QC retired from the District Court of Queensland. A biographical profile of his Honour appears at [2014] QLY 451.
20 The Hon Judge Kerry O’Brien was appointed as Chief Judge of the District Court of Queensland. A transcript of his Honour’s swearing-in ceremony on 31 October is at [2014] QLY 376. A biographical profile of his Honour appears at [2014] QLY 450. Recipients of the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland 2014 Awards. Photography WLAQ Inc. 23 His Honour Judge Michael Burnett of the Federal Circuit Court was appointed a judge of the District Court of Queensland and sworn in in a ceremony in the Banco Court on 18 November. A biographical profile of his Honour appears at [2014] QLY 452.
24 His Honour Judge Paul Smith was appointed Judge Administrator of the District Court.
The Women Lawyers Association of Queensland held its 36th Annual Awards dinner at Brisbane City Hall. The Award of ‘Woman Lawyer of the Year’ went to Samantha Betzien, Partner, Minter Ellison Lawyers. Vicki Jackson, Senior Partner, South & Geldard, received the Queensland Law Society Agnes WcWhinney Award.
27 Dean Morzone QC was appointed as a judge of the District Court and sworn in at a ceremony in the Cairns Supreme and District Court on 3 November. A biographical profile of his Honour appears at [2014] QLY 453.
31 The Hon Justice Patrick Keane AC presented The Minter Ellison Sir Harry Gibbs Law Lecture to the University of Queensland Law Society in the GHD Auditorium, University of Queensland. The lecture was entitled ‘Reflections on the separation of powers’. This paper appears at [2014] QLY 270.
Paul Clauson was appointed the Queensland Legal Services Commissioner.
November
2 His Honour Judge Milton Griffin SC retired as a judge of the District Court of Queensland. A biographical profile of his Honour appears at [2014] QLY 454.
5 In Wellington Capital Ltd v Australian Securities and Investment Commission [2014] HCA 43, the High Court dismissed an appeal from a judgment of the full Federal Court, which held an in specie distribution of property by a Queensland-based managed investment scheme, the Premium Income Fund, to be beyond power.
10 Helen Bowskill QC was appointed a judge of the District Court of Queensland and sworn in (with the Hon Judge Michael Burnett) in the Banco Court on 18 November. A biographical profile of her Honour appears at [2014] QLY 454.
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Barack Obama, President of the United States, addresses students, staff and guests at the University of Queensland, St Lucia. Photography University of Queensland.
10-14 By Practice Direction, a special court vacation was arranged for Brisbane courts to accommodate the G20 Summit being held in Brisbane. United States President, Barack Obama, gave an address at the University of Queensland.
14 In Kuczborski v State of Queensland [2014] HCA 46, the High Court in its original jurisdiction held that the applicant (a member of the Brisbane chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club) had no standing to challenge the validity of the provisions of the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013 (Qld) and dismissed the challenge to the validity of various offences, which were based upon the designation of particular organisations being ‘criminal organisations’.
20 Professor Warren Swain presented the fourth Selden Society lecture for 2014 entitled ‘The legal treatise and the development of the common law’, in the Supreme Court Library. The paper appears at [2014] QLY 132.
24 Suzanne Sheridan was appointed a judge of the District Court of Queensland. A biographical profile of her Honour appears at [2014] QLY 455.
26 The Bar Association of Queensland held its Annual General Meeting for 2013–14. Shane Doyle QC was elected president and Geoffrey Diehm QC was elected vice president.
27 The Hon Justice David Jackson presented the 14th Queensland University of Technology WA Lee Equity Lecture in the Banco Court. The lecture was entitled ‘The first limb of Barnes v Addy: a taxonomy in tatters’. The lecture appears at [2014] QLY 285.
The 10th Richard Cooper Memorial Lecture, by Dr Christopher Ward, was presented in Sydney, with live broadcast to Brisbane.
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December
4 The Queensland Law Society held its 86th Annual General Meeting. Michael Fitzgerald was elected president and Deborah Awyzio was elected vice president.
11 The Attorney-General for Australia, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, announced the appointment of the Hon Justice James Edelman to fill the vacancy left on the retirement of the Hon Justice Peter Jacobson. Justice Edelman took up his appointment in Brisbane on 20 April 2015. The Attorney-General also announced the appointment of four judges to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia including barrister Mr Salvatore Vasta, who commenced in the Brisbane registry on 1 January 2015. Profiles of these judges will appear in the 2015 Queensland Legal Yearbook.
17 The Annual Exchange of Christmas Greetings ceremony was held at the Banco Court, during which nine new Queen’s Counsel for 2014 signed the roll. A transcript of these proceedings appears at [2014] QLY 395.
18 The Hon Justice Anthe Philippides was appointed a judge of the Queensland Court of Appeal and was sworn in in a ceremony in the Banco Court on 4 February 2015. Martin Burns QC was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and was sworn in in a ceremony in the Banco Court on 4 February 2015. A transcript of these proceedings and biographical profiles of their Honours will appear in the 2015 Queensland Legal Yearbook.
Magistrate Terry Gardiner was appointed Deputy Chief Magistrate. Jeffrey Clake (Emerald), Cathy McLennan (Southport) and Peter Hasted (Charleville) were appointed magistrates.
19 A farewell ceremony was held to mark the retirement of the Hon Justice John Muir. A transcript of this ceremony appears at [2014] QLY 355. A biographical profile of his Honour is at [2014] QLY 443.
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