The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation.
Sir Samuel Walker Griffith was an Australian judge and politician who served as the inaugural Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1903 to 1919. He also served a term as Chief Justice of Queensland and two terms as Premier of Queensland, and played a key role in the drafting of the Australian Constitution.
The Governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level. In particular the governor has the power to appoint and dismiss the premier of Queensland and all other ministers in the Cabinet, and issue writs for the election of the state parliament.
Catherine Ena "Cate" Holmes is a retired Australian jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, the highest ranking court in the Australian state of Queensland. She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2000, to the Queensland Court of Appeal in 2006 and appointed chief justice on 11 September 2015. She retired on 19 March 2022.
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court is the highest New South Wales court in the Australian court hierarchy, an appeal by special leave can be made to the High Court of Australia.
The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland.
The chief justice of New Zealand is the head of the New Zealand judiciary, and presides over the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The chief justice of New Zealand is also the chief justice of Tokelau. Before the establishment of the Supreme Court in 2004, the chief justice was the presiding judge in the High Court of New Zealand, and was also ex officio a member of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand. The office is established by the Senior Courts Act 2016, which describes the chief justice as "senior to all other judges".
The New South Wales Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for civil matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian state of New South Wales.
Sir (John) Mostyn Hanger was a judge in Queensland, Australia. He was Chief Justice of Queensland and Administrator of Queensland.
Patrick Anthony Keane is the 11th non-permanent international judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal since 6 April 2023, after his retirement as a Justice of the High Court of Australia. He is currently the Chair of the Expert Advisory Group set up by the Australian Government to guide reforms to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. He is a former Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia.
Margaret Anne McMurdo is the former president of the Queensland Court of Appeal. Appointed on 30 July 1998, she was the first female president of an appellate court in Australia. She resigned effective 24 March 2017 after more than 18 years as a justice of the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court of Nauru was the highest court in the judicial system of the Republic of Nauru till the establishment of the Nauruan Court of Appeal in 2018.
Glenn Martin is a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in the Trial Division. He was appointed in 2007. From 2013 to 2020 he held additional commissions as President of the Industrial Court of Queensland and the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission. In 2022 he was appointed Senior Judge Administrator of the Supreme Court. Justice Martin was President of the Australian Judicial Officers Association from 2020 to 2022. He was an alternate member of the Council of the National Judicial College of Australia from 2016-2022 and has been Chair of the NJCA's Programs Advisory Committee since 2018. He is a former president of both the Australian Bar Association and the Bar Association of Queensland. He is a Life Member of the Bar Association of Queensland, the Australian Bar Association, the National Judicial College of Australia and the Australian Judicial Officers Association. In 2013 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the law, particularly through contributions to the Australian Bar Association, and to the community of Queensland.
Timothy Francis Carmody is an Australian judge who was the Chief Justice of Queensland between 8 July 2014 and 1 July 2015. His previous roles include work as a police officer, barrister, Queensland Crime Commissioner, Family Court of Australia judge, and Chief Magistrate of the Magistrates Court of Queensland. He also presided over the 2013 Child Protection Commission of Inquiry.
Sir Dormer George (Bob) Andrews was a judge in Queensland, Australia. He was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland.
Walter Sofronoff is an Australian jurist and lawyer who served as the President of the Queensland Court of Appeal (2017–2022) and as the Solicitor-General of Queensland from 2005 to 2014.
Helen Bowskill is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, the highest ranking court in the Australian state of Queensland. She was appointed to Chief Justice on 19 March 2022. She previously served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland (2017–2022), Senior Judge Administrator (2021–22), and a judge of the District Court of Queensland, the Childrens Court of Queensland and the Planning and Environment Court of Queensland (2014–17).
