Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Resident Justice of the ACT Supreme Court | |
| Assumed office 26 March 2018 | |
| Nominated by | Gordon Ramsay |
| Appointed by | Gordon Ramsay |
| Preceded by | Hilary Penfold |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Australian |
Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson is an Australian jurist. She was sworn in as a Resident Justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory on 26 March 2018.
Loukas-Karlsson attended school in Rockhampton,Queensland and Sydney,NSW completing high school at the Liverpool Girls school in Sydney. She was the Dux of her graduating year. After high school,Loukas-Karlsson studied at the University of Sydney,graduating in 1985 with a Bachelor of Laws degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree. [1]
After graduating from the University of Sydney,Loukas-Karlsson pursued a career in law,being admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales in July 1985 after which she worked at the Aboriginal Legal Service and the Legal Aid Commission. [2] [3]
In 1989,Loukas-Karlsson was called to the New South Wales Bar where she primarily worked on criminal cases as defence counsel. In 1995,Loukas-Karlsson was appointed as a Barrister with the New South Wales Public Defenders and in 1996 was appointed as an Acting Crown Prosecutor. [1] Throughout her time at the Bar,Loukas-Karlsson maintained her connection to the University of Sydney,returning to the University and Schools Club in 1990 to debate future Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull AC. [4]
In 1996,Loukas-Karlsson was appointed as an Acting Judge of the District Court of New South Wales where she presided over criminal trials. [5] Loukas-Karlsson was also appointed by the New South Wales Government as a part-time Judicial Member of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal (now known as NSW NCAT),a position she held until 2003. [1]
Loukas-Karlsson appeared as counsel before the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague from 2003 to 2006 [1] after which she returned to the New South Wales Bar. In 2012,Loukas-Karlsson was appointed Senior Counsel. [1]
In February 2018,Loukas-Karlsson was announced as a resident Justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory and was sworn in on 26 March,with the ACT Attorney General Gordon Ramsay noting that Loukas-Karlsson's "curriculum vitae is indeed impressive. You have 30 years of experience in criminal law,including six as senior counsel,and you have appeared in courts across state,federal and international jurisdictions. I am most confident that the diverse skills and the perspectives that you will bring to the bench will be very valuable to the court and to the broader community". [5]
Mr Archer,the President of the ACT Bar Association commented that "If I could talk to your [Loukas-Karlsson's] CV perhaps in a thematic way:a commitment to championing the role of women,not only in the law but generally;a commitment to social justice;an undying faith in the idea of equality before the law;and a preparedness to take on the hardest cases and argue the cause of the most vulnerable;decades of achievement with the Legal Aid Office,the Aboriginal Legal Service and The Public Defenders Office;starting as an advocate in the courts when there were few female advocates". [5]
In 2002,Loukas-Karlsson was awarded the Woman Lawyer of Achievement Award and in 2013 was further recognised with the Senior Barrister Award at the Australian Women in Law Awards. [6] In 2017,Loukas-Karlsson also received the Women Lawyers Association of New South Wales Barrister of the Year Award. [3]
These awards included recognition of Loukas-Karlsson's contributions to the wider legal profession in New South Wales and Australia,with Loukas-Karlsson having served as a Bar Council Member in New South Wales for over two decades. [1] Loukas-Karlsson was elected to the executive of the New South Wales Bar Council in 2015 and Junior Vice President in 2017. [7]
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