Murray Gleeson
Encyclopedia
Anthony Murray Gleeson AC
QC
(born 30 August 1938) is a former Chief Justice
of the High Court of Australia
, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy
.
, New South Wales
, the eldest of four children. He was educated at St Joseph's College
where he won the Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition
in both 1953 and 1955, before matriculating to receive first class honours degrees in Arts and Law from Sydney University
. Among his graduating class of 1962 were John Howard
, later to become Prime Minister
; and Michael Kirby, who later served alongside him as a judge on the High Court
.
He married Robyn Patterson in 1965, and the couple have four children. Gleeson's daughter, Rebecca, is married to actor Eric Bana
.
In September 2006, The Australian Financial Review
magazine named Gleeson Australia's seventh most overtly powerful person.
and Anthony Mason - his future predecessors as Chief Justice of New South Wales and Chief Justice of Australia respectively.
His appearances as junior counsel focussed mainly on matters of taxation and commercial law, as well as important constitutional cases including Strickland v Rocla Concrete Pipes Ltd
, which concerned the scope of the corporations power
.
Upon his appointment as Queen's Counsel
(QC) in 1974, Gleeson's career as senior counsel continued to focus on commercial and constitutional matters. However he also appeared in some high profile criminal cases, including his successful defence before a jury of National Party MP
Ian Sinclair
in 1980. In the same year he appeared for the appellants in Port Jackson Stevedoring v Salmond & Spraggon, the last case granted leave to appeal to the Privy Council
from the High Court. In 1981 he appeared for former Prime Minister
Sir William McMahon
in Evans v Crichton-Browne, successfully preventing the rhetoric of political debate from being subject to judicial scrutiny under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Gleeson was President of the New South Wales Bar Association 1984-1985.
He was a methodical counsel, who prepared his cases and even his cross examinations in minute detail. He was nicknamed "the smiler" because of the sternness of his mien. Retired Justice of Appeal Roderick Meagher
said jokingly of Gleeson: "He has written nothing outside his professional work. He takes no interest in either music or art. He does, however, like flowers. He stares at them to make them wilt."
Gleeson was appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
in 1988, the first barrister to be directly elevated to the Chief Justiceship since Frederick Jordan
in 1934. During his decade as Chief Justice of New South Wales, the court system dealt with considerable change including fast growing demand, cost constraints and delays. He sought to delineate appropriate boundaries for the political debate surrounding litigation, and was adamant that the proper administration of justice was a part of civilised government and not a free market privilege.
The tradition of the Chief Justice frequently appearing in the Court of Criminal Appeal was continued under Gleeson's tenure. In this role, he appeared as a judge in R v Birks, where it was found a trial counsel's proved incompetence was a ground of appeal, and Attorney-General (NSW) v Milat, where an indigent accused was found to be entitled to legal representation as a basic requirement of fairness in a serious legal trial.
Gleeson also frequently presided in the Court of Appeal, a forum more suited to his expertise in administrative, commercial, and constitutional law. In 1992, he presided over Greiner v Independent Commission Against Corruption, which exonerated Nick Greiner
from charges of corruption, although Greiner was forced to resign as Premier months earlier by independents who controlled the balance of power in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
. Other notable cases include Ballina Shire Council v Ringland, where he endorsed the constitutionally implied right to freedom of political communication and concluded that councillors could not sue for defamation on statements about their performance, and Egan v Willis where the New South Wales Legislative Council
was found to be empowered to compel the treasurer Michael Egan
(then a member of the Legislative Council) to produce documents and to suspend him for non-compliance. In Egan v Chadwick, this power was found to be not limited by legal professional privilege.
In May 1998, Gleeson was appointed Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
, replacing Sir Gerard Brennan
. He was the first Chief Justice of a state supreme court to be appointed Chief Justice of the High Court since Samuel Griffith
, whose own state Chief Justiceship preceded the formation of the High Court. He is also the first Chief Justice not to have been made a knight
(however, Australia had ceased the practice of awarding knighthoods some years previously). During his tenure as Chief Justice, Gleeson actively maintained the importance of judicial independence in the face of increasing executive government power and public anger with court decisions. He also spoke out against the use of torture, forced confessions and detention without trial.
His tenure as Chief Justice was also characterised by a large number of joint judgments, and a relatively frequent number of judgments that clearly and plainly provide the Court's ratio decidendi
.
On 30 July 2008 it was announced that Federal Court
justice Robert French
would succeed Gleeson as Chief Justice. In accordance with the Australian Constitution
he retired from the High Court on 29 August 2008, the day before his 70th birthday. The occasion was marked by a ceremonial sitting of the High Court in Canberra.
On 7 November 2008, Gleeson was appointed a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He is given a Chinese name "紀立信" by the Hong Kong Judiciary.
from 1989 to 1998.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(born 30 August 1938) is a former Chief Justice
Chief Justice of Australia
The Chief Justice of Australia is the informal title for the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia...
of the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy
Australian court hierarchy
There are two streams within the hierarchy of Australian courts, the federal stream and the state and territory stream. While the federal courts and the court systems in each state and territory are separate, the High Court of Australia remains the ultimate court of appeal for the Australian...
.
Biography
Gleeson was born in WinghamWingham, New South Wales
Wingham is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia in the City of Greater Taree north of Sydney. At the 2006 census, Wingham had a population of 4,812.- History :...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, the eldest of four children. He was educated at St Joseph's College
St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill
St Joseph's College is a Roman Catholic, Secondary, day and boarding school for boys. It is located in Hunters Hill, a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
where he won the Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition
Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition
The Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition is an annual competition in impromptu public speaking between representatives of each of the Great Public Schools and Combined Associated Schools in New South Wales, Australia...
in both 1953 and 1955, before matriculating to receive first class honours degrees in Arts and Law from Sydney University
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. Among his graduating class of 1962 were John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, later to become Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
; and Michael Kirby, who later served alongside him as a judge on the High Court
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
.
He married Robyn Patterson in 1965, and the couple have four children. Gleeson's daughter, Rebecca, is married to actor Eric Bana
Eric Bana
Eric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
.
In September 2006, The Australian Financial Review
The Australian Financial Review
The Australian Financial Review is a leading business and finance newspaper in Australia.Fairfax Media publishes it in a compact format six days a week, Monday to Saturday....
magazine named Gleeson Australia's seventh most overtly powerful person.
Barristerial activity
After graduation, Gleeson spent one year as a solicitor at Messrs Murphy & Moloney. Gleeson was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1963, where he read with Laurence StreetLaurence Street
Sir Laurence Whistler Street AC, KCMG, QC is an Australian jurist and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.-Family:...
and Anthony Mason - his future predecessors as Chief Justice of New South Wales and Chief Justice of Australia respectively.
His appearances as junior counsel focussed mainly on matters of taxation and commercial law, as well as important constitutional cases including Strickland v Rocla Concrete Pipes Ltd
Strickland v Rocla Concrete Pipes Ltd
Strickland v Rocla Concrete Pipes Ltd 124 CLR 468, also known as the Concrete Pipes Case, is a High Court of Australia case that discusses the scope of the corporations power in section 51 of the Australian Constitution...
, which concerned the scope of the corporations power
Section 51(xx) of the Australian Constitution
Section 51 of the Australian Constitution, is a subsection of Section 51 of the Australian Constitution that gives the Commonwealth Parliament the right to legislate with respect to "foreign corporations, and trading or financial corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth"...
.
Upon his appointment as Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(QC) in 1974, Gleeson's career as senior counsel continued to focus on commercial and constitutional matters. However he also appeared in some high profile criminal cases, including his successful defence before a jury of National Party MP
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
Ian Sinclair
Ian Sinclair
Ian McCahon Sinclair AC , is an Australian politician and former leader of the National Party of Australia.Sinclair was born in Sydney, the son of a suburban accountant. He was educated at Knox Grammar School and at the University of Sydney, where he graduated in arts and law...
in 1980. In the same year he appeared for the appellants in Port Jackson Stevedoring v Salmond & Spraggon, the last case granted leave to appeal to the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...
from the High Court. In 1981 he appeared for former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Sir William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
in Evans v Crichton-Browne, successfully preventing the rhetoric of political debate from being subject to judicial scrutiny under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. Gleeson was President of the New South Wales Bar Association 1984-1985.
He was a methodical counsel, who prepared his cases and even his cross examinations in minute detail. He was nicknamed "the smiler" because of the sternness of his mien. Retired Justice of Appeal Roderick Meagher
Roderick Meagher
Roderick Pitt "Roddy" Meagher AO QC was an Australian Jurist and former judge.-Early years and education:Meagher was a descendant of William Pitt the Younger and a cousin of Patrick White. His family owned a chain of country stores...
said jokingly of Gleeson: "He has written nothing outside his professional work. He takes no interest in either music or art. He does, however, like flowers. He stares at them to make them wilt."
Judicial activity
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...
in 1988, the first barrister to be directly elevated to the Chief Justiceship since Frederick Jordan
Frederick Richard Jordan
Sir Frederick Richard Jordan KCMG was a barrister, chief justice and lieutenant governor of New South Wales.. He was the ninth Chief justice of New South Wales, a state of Australia. Jordan was a distinguished lawyer as well as the Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales...
in 1934. During his decade as Chief Justice of New South Wales, the court system dealt with considerable change including fast growing demand, cost constraints and delays. He sought to delineate appropriate boundaries for the political debate surrounding litigation, and was adamant that the proper administration of justice was a part of civilised government and not a free market privilege.
The tradition of the Chief Justice frequently appearing in the Court of Criminal Appeal was continued under Gleeson's tenure. In this role, he appeared as a judge in R v Birks, where it was found a trial counsel's proved incompetence was a ground of appeal, and Attorney-General (NSW) v Milat, where an indigent accused was found to be entitled to legal representation as a basic requirement of fairness in a serious legal trial.
Gleeson also frequently presided in the Court of Appeal, a forum more suited to his expertise in administrative, commercial, and constitutional law. In 1992, he presided over Greiner v Independent Commission Against Corruption, which exonerated Nick Greiner
Nick Greiner
Nicholas "Nick" Frank Hugo Greiner AC, is an Australian businessman and former politician. He was the 37th Premier New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. He was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1988. He is married...
from charges of corruption, although Greiner was forced to resign as Premier months earlier by independents who controlled the balance of power in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
. Other notable cases include Ballina Shire Council v Ringland, where he endorsed the constitutionally implied right to freedom of political communication and concluded that councillors could not sue for defamation on statements about their performance, and Egan v Willis where the New South Wales Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
was found to be empowered to compel the treasurer Michael Egan
Michael Egan (Australian politician)
Michael Rueben Egan , a former union official and former Australian politician, served as Treasurer of New South Wales between 1995 and 2005...
(then a member of the Legislative Council) to produce documents and to suspend him for non-compliance. In Egan v Chadwick, this power was found to be not limited by legal professional privilege.
In May 1998, Gleeson was appointed Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
, replacing Sir Gerard Brennan
Gerard Brennan
Sir Francis Gerard Brennan, AC, KBE, QC , is an Australian lawyer, judge and 10th Chief Justice of Australia. He is father to Jesuit priest and lawyer Frank Brennan....
. He was the first Chief Justice of a state supreme court to be appointed Chief Justice of the High Court since Samuel Griffith
Samuel Griffith
Sir Samuel Walker Griffith GCMG QC, was an Australian politician, Premier of Queensland, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia and a principal author of the Constitution of Australia.-Early life:...
, whose own state Chief Justiceship preceded the formation of the High Court. He is also the first Chief Justice not to have been made a knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
(however, Australia had ceased the practice of awarding knighthoods some years previously). During his tenure as Chief Justice, Gleeson actively maintained the importance of judicial independence in the face of increasing executive government power and public anger with court decisions. He also spoke out against the use of torture, forced confessions and detention without trial.
His tenure as Chief Justice was also characterised by a large number of joint judgments, and a relatively frequent number of judgments that clearly and plainly provide the Court's ratio decidendi
Ratio decidendi
Ratio decidendi is a Latin phrase meaning "the reason" or "the rationale for the decision." The ratio decidendi is "[t]he point in a case which determines the judgment" or "the principle which the case establishes."...
.
On 30 July 2008 it was announced that Federal Court
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...
justice Robert French
Robert French
Robert Shenton French, AC is Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy....
would succeed Gleeson as Chief Justice. In accordance with the Australian Constitution
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
he retired from the High Court on 29 August 2008, the day before his 70th birthday. The occasion was marked by a ceremonial sitting of the High Court in Canberra.
On 7 November 2008, Gleeson was appointed a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He is given a Chinese name "紀立信" by the Hong Kong Judiciary.
Other appointments
Gleeson was the Lieutenant Governor of New South WalesLieutenant Governor of New South Wales
The Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales is a government position in the state of New South Wales, Australia, acting as a deputy to the Governor of New South Wales....
from 1989 to 1998.
Honours
- He was appointed an Officer of the Order of AustraliaOrder of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AO) in 1986. - He received Australia's highest civil honour when he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1992.
- He was awarded the Centenary MedalCentenary MedalThe Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...
in 2001.
External links
- Interview - The Law Report ABC Radio NationalRadio NationalABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
talks to Murray Gleeson about his 20 years on the bench. (audio and transcript available)