Date: Fri, 15 Dec 1995 08:51:48 +1100
From: davibuch@ozemail.com.au (David Buchanan)

It was announced today that Justice Michael Kirby has been appointed to the
High Court of Australia (Australia's final court of appeal).

Kirby is currently President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal.

Kirby is a noted jurist.   Having commenced his career at the industrial
relations bar, he was appointed to the then (federal) Conciliation and
Arbitration Court, was subsequently the first Chairman of the Australian
Law Reform Commission, and has been President of the NSW Court of Appeal
for many years.

He is a skilled and vocal advocate for gay rights, drug law reform and a
longstanding speaker and writer on HIV/AIDS and the law.   He was a member
of Jonathan Mann's Global Program on AIDS (until it was disbanded under Mr
Nakajima).   He is a strong internationalist, for example being the current
President of the International Commission of Jurists, and heavily involved
in labour law and AIDS law reform in South Africa.   Kirby is the Special
Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Human Rights in Cambodia (and
very active and vocal in that role, being under considerable pressure now
from the Cambodian government on human rights issues).

He is noted for his strong stance on human rights domestically and abroad
and is the strongest judicial proponent in Australia on recognition in
domestic law of international human rights obligations.

On gay issues, he has addressed numerous gay and lesbian organisations in
Australia.   He has a been a guest of honour for the Sydney Gay & Lesbian
Mardi Gras parade.   Unfortunately, he is so closely identified in public
with the Tasmanian gay rights cause that it is unlikely he will be able sit
on the case recently filed in the High Court by Rodney Croome and Nick
Toonen to test the strength and scope of the federal law passed last year
to override Tasmania's sodomy statute (in response to the UN Human Right
Committee's decision in Toonen v Australia).

He has published countless papers on AIDS, human rights and the law, not
just in Australia (where there is little argument with his ideas on these
particular subjects) but particularly overseas, especially in Asia and
Africa.   From a very early stage in the epidemic, Kirby propounded the
thesis that, except to protect the rights of people with or at risk of HIV,
the less the law had to do with HIV/AIDS, the more sound and effective
would be the public health response to the virus.   History has proved him
correct.

He is strong supporter of an organised community response to HIV/AIDS and
has been of considerable assistance to community law efforts on HIV in
Australia.      His most recent paper, presented on December 7 to the
International Conference on Global AIDS and Humanity in New Delhi, India,
on "The Judicial Response to HIV/AIDS", is typical - closely reasoned with
35 references!

He can be a conservative on some issues, believing except on fundamental
human rights issues in the paramountcy of the Legislature over the courts.
His criminal law judgments are strong on procedural fairness but he can be
very strong on punishment for violence, especially sexual violence.   This
year, he brought down an almost reactionary judgment on proof of an issue
central to homosexual panic defence, the legal defence of provocation.

Personally, he keeps his private life entirely private.   He is very
courteous on the bench with a dry sense of humour.   He works extraordinary
hours and one of his eccentricities would be his ardent support for the
monarchist cause (he genuinely adores the Queen!).   He is adept at
maintaining good relations with all whom he meets and with whom he works,
especially conservatives, even reactionaries (there's a photo on a wall of
his chambers of him in a tete-a-tete with Scalia).

Following is the news items from today's Sydney Morning Herald on his
appointment -

<Justice Kirby is to be appointed to the High Court in a surprise move
which stacks the court with NSW lawyers and appears certain to tilt its
balance back towards implying a bill of rights in the Constitution.

<Justice Kirby, a distinguished international jurist who is President of
the NSW Copurt of Appeal, has long argued for international human rights
treaties to be taken into account in developing the law.

<He also believes that certain fundamental rights in the common law are
sacrosanct and override any enacted law to the contrrary, and strongly
supports the enactment of a bill of rights.

<Justice Kirby is expected to reject attempts by conservative judges on the
High Court to retreat to black-letter law, thus leaving law-making to
politicians.

<A well-known centralist in Federal-State relations, he will replace
Justice William Deane, who becomes Governor-General in February.

<Justice Kirby also strongly supported a move by a Tasmanian homosexual, Mr
Nick Toonen, to ask the United Nations Human Rights Committee to declare
Tasmania's anti-homosexual laws in breach of human rights.

<There had been widespread speculation that the last High Court
appointment, of NSW's Justice William Gummow, would reverse the majority in
favour of implying individual rights in the Constitution and signal a
retreat from judicial law making.

<But Justice Kirby's appointment is a counter-balance which should restore
the authority of the court's progressives.

<Justice Kirby, a 56-year-old bachelor and workaholic, is a former chairman
of the Australian Law Reform Commission and is noted for elegant judgments.

<His appoointment means that four of the seven High Court judges come from
NSW, with one from each of Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria.

<The States strongly backed the Chief Justice of the South Australian
Supreme Court, Justice John Doyle, for the post after he was runner-up to
Justice Gumow last time round.

<Justice Kirby is a monarchist who has warned of the dangers of an elected
president.   He strongly supports the Mabo [Aboriginal land rights]
decision, and advocates fines rather than jail for possession of small
amounts of cannabis.

<He recently described his role as judge to the Herald: "I am not a
revolutionary.   I wouldn't want you think I am a conservative either, but
it is a matter of reforming that which exists."

The appointment of Michael Kirby to the High Court of Australia is indeed 
a great thing.  I'm sure he'd appreciate a letter of congratulations.  
His current title (until Feb. 6th) is:
The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG
President, The Court of Appeals
Supreme Court of New South Wales
GPO Box 3
Sydney 2001 Australia
 
His fax is 61 2 235 1006
 
AC denotes that he is a companion of the Order of Australia, the highest 
honour the Queen gives her Australia subjects.
 
CMG denotes that he is a Companion, The Most Distinguished order of St. 
Michael and St. George, which is the fifth highest order of chivalry in 
the British empire.  
 
He is not, however, knighted.