Allsop, Justice James --- "Farewell sitting of the Full Court for the Honourable Chief Justice Allsop AC - Adelaide" (FCA) [2023] FedJSchol 3

the public and independent exercise of a species of governmental power of a particular and special protective kind, displaying equality before the law, impartiality, the appearance of impartiality, the right of a party to meet the case against him or her and the fair, and to the extent possible, correct determination of the issues in dispute. None of these characteristics can be measured. None can be translated into any metric. All are deeply important to the fabric of society.

Your Honour, these characteristics may not be able to be measured, but they can be felt and observed, and with your Honour, have been so felt and observed by the Profession and the community. Your Honour, on behalf of the Law Society of South Australia, I thank you for your contribution to ensuring that those immeasurable, essential characteristics of the exercise of judicial power have been preserved in your Court. Thank you, your Honour.

ALLSOP CJ: Thank you, Mr Marsh. Justice Besanko.

BESANKO J: Chief Justice, Judges of this Court, President of Appeal Livesey, Judges of the Court of Appeal and of the Supreme Court, Judges of other Courts and Tribunals, immediate past President of the South Australian Bar Association, President of the South Australian Law Society, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to have the opportunity on behalf of the Judges of this Court in this Registry, both former and present Judges, to acknowledge your HonouraEURtms contribution as the fourth Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia.

By way of background, I have known your Honour for approximately 32 years. I met your Honour in the early 1990s when we were both briefed in a large commercial matter in this Registry of the Court. You appeared for one respondent in the matter, and I appeared for two other respondents. We worked together, and I got to know your Honour quite well. Even then, it was obvious to everyone that whilst the precise path was unclear, you were destined to make a very substantial contribution to the jurisprudence and administration of justice in this country.

Your HonouraEURtms judicial career spans over a period of 22 years. As it happens, my judicial career also spans over a period of 22 years. Subtracting periods when one or other of us was on another Court, I have had the pleasure of serving on the same Court with you for approximately 13 years. After your HonouraEURtms appointment in 2001, you served on this Court until 2008. Between June 2008 and February 2013, your Honour was the President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, before your HonouraEURtms appointment as Chief Justice of this Court on 1 March 2013.

Your Honour is the fourth Chief Justice of the Court. Your HonouraEURtms tenure as Chief Justice has been marked by rapidly changing circumstances including a significant expansion in the CourtaEURtms work and very substantial changes in technology. If I may say, the key features of your HonouraEURtms time as Chief Justice of the Court have been leadership and vision.

Most importantly, your Honour has been the intellectual leader of this Court, and your Honour has contributed significantly to the reputation of the Court. Your HonouraEURtms intellectual leadership is widely recognised within the Court and, I think, by the legal community. I have had the pleasure of sitting on a number of appeals with your Honour, and that has always been a very satisfying experience. Your Honour is well known for your penetrating insight and your ability to see every problem in its proper context, and I emphasise that word aEURoecontext.aEUR Your HonouraEURtms contribution to the jurisprudence of this country will, no doubt, be the subject of academic description and debate, in due course. I cannot do that justice now. Of my own knowledge, your Honour has written significant and substantial judgments in the fields of insolvency law, insurance law, patent law, equity and, in particular, unconscionable conduct, public law, admiralty law and the list goes on.

I can remember one occasion which illustrates your HonouraEURtms thirst for legal knowledge and extensive scholarship. During your HonouraEURtms time as President of the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, which as we all know is an extremely demanding job, we saw each from time to time, but not very often. I was surprised, then, to receive a telephone call from your Honour in about 2010 or 2011. After the usual greetings, your Honour told me that you had read a judgment I had written in an admiralty matter and that the point was contentious and, for what it was worth, you agreed with my decision. I was surprised that your Honour had the time to do that in the circumstances, but on reflection, it was no surprise, having regard to your HonouraEURtms deep learning and perhaps affection for all matters involving admiralty law.

Your Honour has made substantial changes to the internal structure of the Court with the introduction of the National Court Framework in 2014 which involved an internal reorganisation to recognise areas of expertise and provide appropriate registrar support for those areas. That was a major change, and I cannot do justice to it on this occasion. It is sufficient to say that your HonouraEURtms approach to administration has been marked by innovation and an ability to be quick to recognise that if processes and procedures, however well-established and time-honoured, are not working as best they might, then they are changed, modified and adapted. There is much more that can be said and, no doubt, will be said in due course than time permits this morning. One important feature is that your Honour has worked hard to give effect to the national character of the Court and that has certainly enhanced the profile of the smaller States when appropriate.

A matter which may not be widely known is your Honour consults widely within the Court on issues affecting the Court, with respect to matters that your Honour has the power to decide, alone. These are matters which may be internal to the Court or issues involving the CourtaEURtms relationships with the public. There is a wide consultation structure and a number of Judges consulted and a range of views are obtained. As we all know, the consultation process is time consuming and can be exhausting, but your Honour undertakes it whether the issue be large or small, and that has been to the CourtaEURtms benefit in terms of the best decision-making and in terms of the morale of the Judges.

The other matter which is in a similar vein and is probably not widely known, in the sense that there is no public face to it, is the extensive efforts your Honour makes in terms of pastoral care. There are over 50 Judges on the Court. Most of them are strong-willed and proud. The others are very strong-willed and proud. Almost everyone has issues from time to time that affect or could affect a JudgeaEURtms ability to do their work. Your Honour has not only listened to problems but also observed them in advance and taken steps to address them. Your Honour has always been available by telephone, even on the weekends, to deal with problems, large or small. From a Judge asking to be permitted not to travel, perhaps because of a sickness in the family, to a problem requiring a lot more time. Dealing with this, as your Honour has done, has been quite a feat, considering that at the same time, your Honour has undertaken a full appellate load and from time to time not only sat at first instance but undertaken case management hearings.

As to the future, I understand your Honour may continue in a form of dispute resolution. IaEURtmm sure with your reputation and contacts here and abroad there will be much work on offer should you choose to pursue it. IaEURtmm confident some form of teaching will find its way into your HonouraEURtms future activities. Your Honour has, to my observation, a strong inclination in that respect. No doubt, there will be other offers from governments and others. Amidst all that, we hope that you and Sandy have the opportunity to read, travel and enjoy family during your post-judicial career.

ALLSOP CJ: Thank you, Justice Besanko. The Court will now adjourn.

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