In Brief Issue #1136

Federal Court of Australia

A ceremonial sitting of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia will be held to mark the appointment of the Honourable Justice Penelope Neskovcin as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia in Court 1, Level 8, Federal Court of Australia, Owen Dixon Commonwealth Law Courts Building, 305 William Street, Melbourne on:

Wednesday, 28 February 2024 at 9:30am

All counsel are encouraged to attend, robed.

To do so, please RSVP by email to Ms Dimitra Argyros - dimitra.argyros@fedcourt.gov.au. The closing date for RSVP is Friday, 23 February 2024. Seating will be arranged in Court 1 or another Court for viewing via video link. Counsel who fail to RSVP are very welcome but may have to stand.

A ceremonial sitting of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia will be held to mark the appointment of the Honourable Justice Craig Dowling as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia in Court 1, Level 8, Federal Court of Australia, Owen Dixon Commonwealth Law Courts Building, 305 William Street, Melbourne on:

Friday, 1 March 2024 at 9:30am.

All counsel are encouraged to attend, robed.

To do so, please RSVP by email to Ms Dimitra Argyros - dimitra.argyros@fedcourt.gov.au. The closing date for RSVP is Friday, 23 February 2024. Seating will be arranged in Court 1 or another Court for viewing via video link. Counsel who fail to RSVP are very welcome but may have to stand.

Supreme Court of Victoria

A welcome ceremony to mark the appointment of the Honourable Justice Paul Cosgrave as a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria will be held in Banco Court, Supreme Court of Victoria, 210 William Street, Melbourne on:

Thursday, 22 February 2024 at 9:15am

All counsel are encouraged to attend, robed.

County Court of Victoria

A welcome ceremony to mark the appointment of his Honour Judge Michael Wise will be held in Court 3-3 of the County Court of Victoria, Level 3, 250 William Street, Melbourne on:

Friday, 23 February 2024 at 9:15am.

Click here to view the live stream.

The Bar Council calls for expressions of interest from members who wish to be considered for appointment to the Standing Exam Review Panel.  

The purpose of the Exam Panel is to confer with the Chief Examiner, review the content, form, and complexity of each Exam, and ensure that it remains consistent with its original purpose.

The minimum term of service on the Panel is three (3) years.

Expressions of interest are sought from senior members to complement the panel membership. If you are interested in joining the panel, we encourage you to provide a detailed expression of interest, which should identify any relevant areas of experience or expertise. 

Nominations close at 5:00pm, Thursday, 22 February 2024, and should be emailed to sharni.doherty@vicbar.com.au.

We are looking for an in-house lawyer to join our team. Reporting to the Senior In-House Legal Counsel, this opportunity will suit a lawyer seeking a generalist in-house role, which will see you working effectively at various levels within the organisational and membership structure.

In particular, the role's key responsibilities include:

1. providing governance, risk and regulatory compliance-related support and advice;
2. assisting with the implementation of the Bar’s strategies, special projects and development programs intended to meet the objectives of the Bar’s strategic plan;
3. providing support to the Senior In-house Legal Counsel, Executive Director, Bar Council and Bar Committees;
4. contributing to key projects at the Bar; and
5. establishing and maintaining the Bar’s relationship with critical stakeholders.

Click here for more information and to apply.

The VicBar CPD Committee would like to remind members that the last day to complete your CPD requirements is Sunday, 31 March 2024.

If you haven’t completed your requirements yet, don’t worry — log in to the VicBar website, and an extensive list of recordings is available for viewing on our CPD catalogue.

If you have extenuating circumstances and are unable to complete it in time, please ensure you notify the CPD Committee ASAP by emailing education@vicbar.com.au.

Australian underground tunnelling expert and member of the Victorian Bar Professor Arnold Dix become a hero after helping 41 workers trapped inside Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel late last year.

Join us for a conversation with Arnold to learn more about how he came to be an Australian tunnelling expert.

Date: Wednesday, 28 February 2024
Time:  5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Venue: Peter O'Callaghan QC Gallery, Owen Dixon Chambers, 205 William St Melbourne

Register via the link here. 

Registration is now open for the CommBar 2024 International Commercial Law Conference to be held on July 3 and 4, 2024, at the Inner Temple, London.

The CommBar 2024 ICLC in London will feature leading counsel and jurists from Melbourne and London speaking on a wide variety of commercial law topics. Attendees will be able to earn 10 CPD points across all required areas. Speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. The conference will also stage a black tie gala dinner in the Middle Temple Hall and an end-of-conference drinks reception in the Inns of Court.

In addition to the main conference taking place in London on 3 and 4 July 2024, CommBar, in conjunction with the Tax Bar Association, is convening an option ‘add-on’ seminar in Oxford on the afternoon of 1 July 2024 at Magdelen College, with a dinner to follow the seminar at the Ashmolean Museum.

Discounted early bird registration for the CommBar 2024 ICLC in London is available until 29 February 2024 at a price of $1,800 (standard registration for counsel over 5 years call - $1,980, incl. GST) and $1,500 (registration for junior barristers under 5 years call - $1,650, incl. GST). Registration includes attendance at all conference sessions on 3 and 4 July 2024, morning and afternoon teas, lunches, admission to the gala dinner on 3 July, and the end-of-conference drinks reception on 4 July. In addition to the CommBar 2024 ICLC registration, there is also the opportunity for attendees to purchase additional related subscriptions: Attendance at the Oxford seminar and dinner on 1 July ($595, incl. GST); and Accompanying person registration ($550, incl. GST – which permits a person accompanying a conference attendee to attend the gala dinner on 3 July and the end-of-conference drinks on 4 July).

Full details of the CommBar 2024 ICLC and registration are available at the conference website, which is now ‘live’: www.commbar2024iclc.com

The CommBar 2024 ICLC is not to be missed. Numbers are limited, so register now!

• Direct Debit Payments: As previously communicated, Victorian Bar members who do not have chambers with BCL are required to pay via direct debit for technology services. Click here to register for direct debit.
• Why Take Chambers with BCL? As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Victorian Bar, BCL provides a flexible and unique solution of chamber and technology support only available to members of the Bar. Click here to view our current vacancies.

The first Bar Dads coffee catch-up for 2024 will be in the Essoign at 10:00am on Thursday, 22 February. Come along to find out about our plans for the coming year. Please save the date. All Dads are welcome!

To join the Bar Dads WhatsApp group, please email haroon.hassan@vicbar.com.au.

In recognition of International Women’s Day, WBA is conducting a clothing drive for donations to Fitted for Work - an organisation that helps women, Non-Binary, and Gender Diverse jobseekers experiencing disadvantage secure employment.

Part of their pre and post-employment services includes providing jobseekers with work-appropriate attire.

Donations of good-quality workwear, including suits, blouses, skirts, pants, as well as shoes in good condition are welcome.

Some of the donations (vintage and designer clothing) are sold to raise funds for the organisation.

In addition, Fitted for Work also provides a number of women with good-quality second-hand handbags filled with toiletries as a gift. So donations of handbags in good condition and unused toiletries and makeup would also be very welcome. 

Items needed as a matter of priority currently are:

Pants – tapered/slim fit, black and navy blue, sizes 12+ in particular
Blouses – contemporary cuts and styles, sleeves preferred, sizes 12+ in particular
Flat shoes – all sizes
Makeup – new, packaged, including mascara and foundation
Deodorant

If you have any donations, please deliver them to the following people (call first to make sure we are in chambers!) by Friday, 8 March 2024. 

Sandra Karabidian - 1016 Owen Dixon West (9225 6493) skarabidian@vicbar.com.au 

Kylie Evans SC – L15 Castan Chambers (9225 8881) kylie.evans@vicbar.com.au

Chapman’s List Barristers – Marked attention: Sandra Karabidian, LG Owen Dixon West (9225 7666)

Studio 11 is delighted to invite you to come to Level 11 ODC East to view a solo landscape exhibition by Philip Adams comprising some 29 works, all of which are for sale, with all proceeds going directly to the artist.

Adams ably captures the excitement of exploring a landscape, including well-known vistas such as Teddy’s Lookout at Lorne. Studying the detailed works brings rich rewards. The viewer’s senses are sharpened as the beauty of minute mosses, fungi, wildflowers, and insects to panoramic views of forests, cliffs, and mountains are absorbed. Vertical divisions are used in the larger works to combine imagery. Colours harmonise, contrast and change constantly from time of day to the time of year. It is these combinations that are often the start of a work, along with the textures and patterns. The collages are explorations. Paper is prepared with washes, resist impasto, and glazes to capture aspects of the landscape. These are then cut and assembled on a landscape ground, either watercolour paper, or on canvas. From these arrangements, further images are suggested, which are developed by over painting, until some sort of balance between form and suggestion is achieved.

The exhibition runs from 22 January to 29 March 2024.

We are open daily from 7.30am – till late

Breakfast – for dine-in or takeaway.

Lunch – Daily Café Menu dine-in or takeaway.

Lunch Dine-In – A La Carte from midday.

Bar – EVERY EVENING  – $5 Beer & Wine from 4.30pm – 5.30pm

Catering & Events – Special lunches, working lunches, private dinners, or something special you may have in mind. Email us at essoign@vicbar.com.au

Our new Spring Summer Menu is available here. 

The Law Council of Australia has updated details for their Qantas Corporate Scheme. To find out more, please see our Member Benefits page.

The Sentencing Advisory Council has released two reports on the sentencing of OHS offences: a consultation paper and a statistical report.

The reports follow the receipt of terms of reference from the Victorian Government earlier this year, seeking the Council's advice about potential reforms in this space.

The release of these reports triggers the beginning of a 4-month consultation period, during which the Council is looking to hear from stakeholders and interested groups about possible reforms. This includes via written submissions, a survey on the Engage Victoria website, meetings with key stakeholders and interest groups, and a series of in-person community consultation events we will be hosting all around Victoria. 

Learn about expert determination, mastering the entire process from appointment to publication.

This course is designed for individuals seeking a deeper understanding of expert determination, including those considering becoming expert determiners & those already practicing who wish to refine their skills.

• This course aims to:
  Advance the knowledge and understanding of the practice of expert determination in the dispute resolution and wider community.
• Provide participants with a practical understanding of the process and legal requirements for the conduct of the expert determination.
• Assess participants on the practice of expert determination and the writing of a reasoned determination.
• Provide a pathway for Resolution Institute members to be listed on Resolution Institute’s Register of Practicing Expert Determiners.

Click here for more information and to register.

Date:  Tuesday, 20 February 2024, 5.15pm to 6.15pm
Venue:  Neil McPhee Room, Owen Dixon Chambers
Speaker:  Fr Richard Waddell JCL

At law, the Catholic Church is a voluntary association, and canon law is its book of rules.  Practitioners and courts can thus be called on to interpret canon law in the same way as they might interpret a company’s constitution or the terms of a trust.

Fr Richard Waddell practised at the Victorian Bar for 22 years and is now a Catholic priest working in Sydney.  He will focus on two recent cases in which priests have taken action against Archbishops through the courts - in one case to prevent a land sale, in the other claiming a denial of natural justice in a disciplinary proceeding.

For further details, please visit here. 

Melbourne Law School is pleased to present the following events in March:

The uses of disenchantment: Law, history and the public intellectual

Samuel Moyn in conversation with Shaun McVeigh and Sundhya Pahuja

It’s hard not to feel pessimistic about the state of the world. The news is already bad; fake news and algorithms make it worse. Calls for academics to res

pond with a renewed responsibility in public debate often suffer from the same malaise. And the struggle for well-informed commentary can be hard to sustain in the light of the critical demands of justice and lawful conduct and the criticism of law and justice. Over the last fifteen years, Prof. Moyn has developed a sustained historical disenchantment of the promises and fantasies of the Euro-American post 1945 settlement. He is the author of several critical histories of international law and human rights including The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History (2010); Christian Human Rights (2015), and Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World (2018). His recent books include Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War (2022) and Liberalism Against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times (2023).  Join Prof. Moyn in conversation with Prof. McVeigh and Prof. Pahuja about the role of the historian and jurist, styles of academic engagement in Western universities, and the struggle between pessimism and hope in political discourse.

This event is supported by the Melbourne Law School, the Institute for International Law and the Humanities, the Laureate Program in Global Corporations and International Law, and the Adelaide Writers’ Week.

Agenda:
From 5:30pm: Welcome reception with drinks and light refreshments provided in the level 9 Common Room.
From 6:30pm: Conversation with Prof. Samuel Moyn in Room 920, level 9

Date & Time:  Monday, 4 March, 5:30pm - 7:30pn AEDT
Location:  Level 9, Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham St, Carlton 

Registration: Here

Nathan & Pamela Jacobson Public Lecture 2024

Searching for our shared humanity: Reflections from the field

Presented by Dr Helen Durham AO, CEO of RedR Australia

In this lecture, Dr. Helen Durham will share insights gained from 30 years of working as an international humanitarian lawyer, an area of law dedicated to alleviating suffering during times of armed conflict. With faster visibility of the reality on the battlefield and more intense exposures to the brutal consequences of war, there is an amplification of a simple narrative involving ‘good’ and ‘bad’ without space for wider reflections.

Concurrently, we are witnessing stronger questioning of the relevance and impact of international law. Using her direct experiences in the field, from Mogadishu to Gaza, and her engagements with military and authorities globally, Dr. Durham will explore the importance of reminding ourselves of the need for a common humanity.  This lecture is co-hosted by the MLS Human Rights Program and the Melbourne Journal of International Law.

Agenda:
From 5:30pm: Welcome reception with drinks and light refreshments provided in the Ground Foyer.
The lecture will start at 6:00pm in the ground floor theatre, G08.

Date & Time:  Thursday, 7 March, 5:30pm - 7:00pm AEDT
Location:  Theatre G08, Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham St, Carl on 

Registration: Here

CCCS Recent Developments Symposium

Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies is pleased to offer a one-day seminar on 'Current Developments in Constitutional Law'.

Four expert panels will discuss key themes arising on two recent, seminal High Court cases: Vanderstock v Victoria (2023) and NZYQ v Minister for Immigration (2023) and on the future of constitutional change.

Date & Time:  Friday, 8 March, 8:50am - 4:30pm AEDT
Location:  Woodward Conference Centre, South Room, Level 10 Melbourne Law School
Cost: Standard rate $200, Academic rate $125

Registration: Here

International Women’s Day 2024

Reproducing Abortion: A Feminist Conversation on Bodily Autonomy in the Shadow of Dobbs

The Institute for International Law and the Humanities is inviting you to join us in person for a seminar chaired by Professor Ann Genovese (Melbourne Law School) with presentations by Johanna Commins (Melbourne Law School), Dr Elena Caruso (University of Waterloo, Canada), and Dr Erica Millar (La Trobe University). The responsibilities of feminist scholars are specific and important, sharing traditions across disciplines and locations of centring experience, maintaining scepticism toward positivist projects, and devising methodologies that respond to the diffuse operation of law’s refusal of gendered agency and status. This feminist scholarly responsibility is particularly acute in the contemporary moment for scholars whose work challenges the laws, histories, stories, and tropes that confine and limit women’s access to and experience of abortion. In this seminar, three scholars discuss their work on this topic. They address how their distinct methodologies, which draw across and between law, gender studies, literature, and history, bring feminist activism and interdisciplinary feminist scholarship into a necessary relationship. In the seminar, we hope to open up a shared conversation about how feminist work on abortion, be it in Italy, Australia, or the US, is more important than ever to advocate for the bodily autonomy of women and gender-diverse peoples in 2024.

Date & Time:  Friday, 8 March, 9:45am - 12:00pm AEDT
Location:  Room 610, Level 6, Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham St, Carlton  

Registration: Here

Allen Hope Southey Memorial Public Lecture 2024

Knowing Receipt, Fiduciary Duties and Equitable Interests in Property

Presented by Prof. Charles Mitchell KC FBA, University College London

Liability for knowing receipt is incurred when defendants receive legal title to trust property with unconscionable knowledge that the trustee was not authorised to transfer it to them. Liability is also incurred when defendants receive property from other people who act beyond limits enforceable in equity that are placed on their powers to transfer legal title, e.g. company directors and administrators of a deceased person’s estate. It is often said that claimants must show that the property was transferred ‘in breach of fiduciary duty’. However, this is confusing because courts often use this term in two different senses – to denote either a duty to avoid conflicts of interest or a duty of due administration (meaning a duty to comply with the terms on which a power has been given to control and dispose of property). Confusion has also been caused by findings that a claimant must have had an ‘equitable interest’ in the relevant property that was not destroyed before, or at the time of, a defendant’s receipt. The problem with this is that the juridical content of the claimant’s ‘interest’ has not been clearly defined. The lecture will examine both sets of problems and suggest some solutions.

Date & Time:  Wednesday, 27 March, 6:00pm - 7:00pm AEDT
Location: Theatre G08, Ground floor, Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham St, Carlton  

Registration: Here

Details for the much anticipated ACT Bar CPD Conference have been finalised and tickets are now available.

The CPD Committee has coordinated a fantastic day which includes seven presentations with a total of 11 presenters.

The Conference will provide you with 7 CPD points.

Where: Australian Academy of Science, The Shine Dome, 15 Gordon St, Acton. In the beautifully appointed Ian Wark Theatre
Time: 8:00am to 5:00pm
RSVP: Monday, 11 March, 5:00pm

Read the Conference itinerary here
(be sure to click on the presenter's name to read their bio and the article for Dr Chin and Dr Cullen's presentation)

Purchase your ticket/s here.

As this event will be fully catered, please ensure you contact Tim Kapustin regarding any dietary requirements.

Conveniently at the historic Mint in the heart of Sydney’s legal district, the conference theme is‘Pure Gold: The Minting of Australian Dispute Resolution’. A golden line-up of speakers, including Her Excellency, Governor Margaret Beazley, The Hon. Deputy Chief Robert McClelland, former Chief Justices The Hon. Tom Bathurst AC KC FRSN and Wayne Martin AC KC, and more. A dynamic programme of debates, conversations, panels, and workshops. Enhance your practice and network with Australia’s leading jurists and dispute resolution specialists. CPD Points apply. See full details and Early-Bird Registration here.

Members of the Bar are invited to attend a Bail Reforms Conference at the RACV City Club in Melbourne on Thursday, 21 March 2024. This event is presented in partnership with the Office of Public Prosecutions, Victoria Legal Aid, and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, with funding from the Department of Justice and Community Safety. Please find here the guide to Aboriginal bail considerations (noting an updated version with links will be provided after the commencement of the reforms). The conference aims to educate the Victorian legal profession about key legislative provisions, as well as the context and purpose of the forthcoming Bail Act reforms, in order to strengthen the submissions and decisions made regarding those applying for bail. The full conference agenda will be distributed in the coming weeks.

To confirm attendance, please complete the RSVP form by 1 March 2024. There are only 12 places available, so be sure to book in quickly.

This Conference will be held in Hong Kong on Monday, April 8, and Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at the Murray Hotel.

The theme of the Conference is arbitration as a universal language for both civil and common law jurisdictions, focusing on the advocacy skills required.

We hope you will join us at the Conference and look forward to receiving you in Hong Kong.

Click here to view the Conference website and here to view the flyer.

Contact Email: 2024conference@i-atc.com