Supreme Court of Queensland
Encyclopedia
Law Courts, Brisbane
The Law Courts Complex is located in George Street and Adelaide Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.The Law Courts Complex contains both the Queensland Supreme Court and the District Court...
, is the superior court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
for the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n State
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and sits around the middle of 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...
. It has jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
within the state in:
- civilCivil law (common law)Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
matters for claims over $750,000; - serious criminalCriminal lawCriminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
offences including murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, manslaughterManslaughterManslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
and serious drug offences; and - matters arising under the Corporations Act 2001Corporations Act 2001The Corporations Act 2001 , sometimes referred to just as the Corporations Act , is an act of the Commonwealth of Australia that sets out the laws dealing with business entities in Australia at federal and interstate level...
and cross-vesting legislation.
The court has judges permanently appointed to sit in Rockhampton
Rockhampton
Rockhampton can refer to:* Rockhampton, Queensland is a city in Queensland, Australia* Rockhampton City, Queensland, a suburb of Rockhampton, Queensland* Electoral district of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia...
, Townsville and Cairns and regularly sits in other regional districts.
Composition
In 1991 the Queensland Supreme Court was restructured into two divisions, the Trial Division and the Court of Appeal. The Court is headed by the Chief Justice of Queensland (currently Chief Justice Paul de JerseyPaul de Jersey
Paul de Jersey, AC, QC was appointed Chief Justice on 17 February 1998 of the Supreme Court of Queensland, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Queensland.-Education:...
) who sits in both the Trial Division and the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal comprises the President (currently Justice Margaret McMurdo) and four Judges of Appeal, who sit only in the Court of Appeal. Proceedings in the Court of Appeal are usually heard by three judges. The Trial Division comprises a number of trial judges, and is headed by the Senior Judge Administrator (currently Justice John Byrne
John Byrne (judge)
Justice John Byrne is the Senior Judge Administrator of the Supreme Court of Queensland. Having been a judge of that court since 1989, he is one of the court’s most experienced judges.-Pre-judicial Career:...
). Proceedings in the Trial Division are heard by one trial judge. Most trial division judges also rotate through the Court of Appeal, usually for three week periods.
Appeals from:
- the Trial Division are heard by the Court of Appeal; and
- the Court of Appeal are heard by the High Court of AustraliaHigh Court of AustraliaThe 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 Court of Appeal also hears appeals from the District Court of Queensland
District Court of Queensland
The District Court of Queensland is a court in Queensland, a state of Australia. It has jurisdiction to hear:* appeals from decisions of the Magistrates' Court of Queensland;...
.
Court of Appeal
- President Margaret McMurdoMargaret McMurdoMargaret A McMurdo AC is the current President of the Queensland Court of Appeal. Her appointment on 30 July 1998 saw her become the first female president of an appellate court in Australia.-Education:...
(30 July 1998) - Catherine HolmesCatherine HolmesThe Honourable Justice Catherine Ena Holmes was appointed as a judge on 16 March 2000 to the Supreme Court of Queensland, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Queensland.-Education:...
(26 May 2006) - John Muir (12 July 2007)
- Hugh Fraser (24 January 2008)
- Richard Chesterman (11 December 2008)
- Justice Margaret White (15 April 2010)
Trial Division
- Senior Judge Administrator John ByrneJohn Byrne (judge)Justice John Byrne is the Senior Judge Administrator of the Supreme Court of Queensland. Having been a judge of that court since 1989, he is one of the court’s most experienced judges.-Pre-judicial Career:...
(25 July 1989) - Margaret White (2 April 1992)
- Keiran Cullinane (16 November 1992)
- Henry George FrybergHenry George FrybergJustice Henry George Fryberg is a current Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, Australia. He is considered a compassionate judge. Justice Fryberg was sworn in on 23 September 1994.-Brisbane City Council v. Matthews:Brisbane City Council v...
(23 September 1994) - Stanley Jones (2 October 1997)
- Margaret Wilson (20 August 1998)
- Roslyn AtkinsonRoslyn AtkinsonJustice Roslyn Atkinson is a Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, having been appointed to that position in 1998. In 2002 she also became the Chairperson of the Queensland Law Reform Commission, and has served in that role since....
(3 September 1998) - Debra Mullins (16 March 2000)
- Anthe PhilippidesAnthe PhilippidesAnthe Ioanna Philippides was appointed as a judge on 14 December 2000 to the Supreme Court of Queensland, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Queensland....
(14 December 2000) - Philip McMurdo (3 March 2003)
- James Douglas (1 December 2003)
- Ann Lyons (7 July 2006)
- Martin Daubney (12 July 2007)
- Glenn Martin (30 August 2007)
- Duncan McMeekin (15 October 2007)
- Peter Applegarth (3 September 2008)
- Peter Lyons (10 February 2009)
- Alan WilsonAlan WilsonProfessor Sir Alan Geoffrey Wilson is a British mathematician and social scientist, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds...
(27 October 2009) - David Boddice (2 July 2010)
- Jean Dalton (25 February 2011)
Noted Judges
- Peter ConnollyPeter Connolly (Australian judge)Peter David Connolly QC was an Australian politician and judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland.Born in Sydney in 1920, Connolly served in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force between 1940 and 1946...
- Harry GibbsHarry GibbsSir Harry Talbot Gibbs, GCMG, AC, KBE, QC was Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1981 to 1987 after serving as a member of the High Court between 1970 and 1981...
, who later became the Chief Justice of the High Court of AustraliaHigh Court of AustraliaThe 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... - Samuel GriffithSamuel GriffithSir 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:...
, the first Chief Justice of the High Court of AustraliaHigh Court of AustraliaThe 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... - Thomas McCawleyThomas McCawleyThomas William McCawley was a chief justice of Queensland.McCawley was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He was of Irish-Catholic background, his father having been born in County Leitrim, Ireland. On his mother's side he had German ancestry, his mother coming from Darmstadt, Germany...
- Bruce McPhersonBruce McPherson (Australian judge)Bruce Harvey McPherson was born in Melmoth, South Africa on 23 September 1936. He graduated from Cambridge in 1959, then moved to Brisbane, Australia in 1960. He was admitted to the Queensland Bar in 1965 and became Queen's Counsel in 1975, after marrying his second wife, Isobel Jacqueline Marie...
Sir Edward Williams (judge)
Edward Williams (judge)
Sir Edward Stratten Williams KCMG KBE QC was appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court of Queensland, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian state of Queensland....
See also
- Judiciary of AustraliaJudiciary of AustraliaThe judiciary in Australia is modelled substantially on the system of courts which existed in England.The large number of courts and tribunals in Australia have different procedural powers and characteristics, different jurisdictional limits, different remedial powers and different cost...
- Law Courts, BrisbaneLaw Courts, BrisbaneThe Law Courts Complex is located in George Street and Adelaide Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.The Law Courts Complex contains both the Queensland Supreme Court and the District Court...
- List of Judges of the Supreme Court of Queensland