Ian Callinan

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Ian Callinan
Ian Callinan
In office
3 February 1998 – 31 August 2007
Appointed by Hon. Daryl Williams AM QC MP
Preceded by John Toohey
Succeeded by Susan Kiefel
Born September 1, 1937 (1937-09-01) (age 70)
Flag of Australia Casino, New South Wales
Nationality Australian

Ian David Francis Callinan (born 1 September 1937) AC QC is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia; the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy.

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[edit] Education

Born in Casino, New South Wales, he was raised in Brisbane, Queensland, and educated at Brisbane Grammar School. He received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland while working as an articled clerk.

[edit] Judicial activity

Callinan was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1960 and a barrister in 1965. He was appointed as a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1978. He was President of the Queensland Bar Association 1984 - 1987 and President of the Australian Bar Association 1984 - 1985.

At the Bar he developed a broad national practice, appearing in cases concerning almost all areas of the law including high profile commercial law cases, industrial relations disputes, defamation trials, constitutional cases and criminal matters. He was briefed by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute High Court justice Lionel Murphy. He also appeared for high profile corporate personalities such as Alan Bond. He was briefed by the Australian government to appear in extradition proceedings against fugitive businessman Christopher Skase in both Spanish and Australian courts. While at the Bar he held retainers from some of Australia's largest banks and media companies.

He is considered a judicial conservative and a strong defender of federalism. He has spoken out against the death penalty (which has been abolished in Australia) and has advocated a tort of interference with privacy[1].

He was appointed as a Justice of the High Court in February 1998, a position he held until the 1st September 2007, when forced to retire under constitutional provisions. He was replaced by fellow Queenslander Susan Kiefel.

[edit] Other activities

While at the Bar Callinan devoted much time to supporting the Arts in Queensland. He served on the board of many art galleries and was Chairman of Trustees of the Queensland Art Gallery.

Apart from his judicial writings he is a novelist (The Lawyer and the Libertine, The Missing Masterpiece, The Coroners' Conscience, Appointment at Amalfi and After the Monsoon) and a playwright (Brazilian Blue, The Cellophane Ceiling and The Acquisition). He has also written short stories.

He served on the board of several public companies before being appointed to the bench and was also a board member of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia's public broadcaster.

In 1998, advice given by Callinan while he was at the bar became the subject of a major federal court case, White Industries (Qld) Pty Ltd v Flower & Hart in which it was found that the advice given by Callinan to a law firm (Flower and Hart) and then to the client, resulted in an abuse of the court's process. Flower and Hart unsuccessfully tried to exclude themselves from liabliity on the basis that the advice to sue where prospects were weak and the case was merely to obtain a temporary bargaining position had come from the barrister (Callinan). [1]

Since 2000 he has been the Chairman of the Australian Defence Force Academy.

Immediately upon his retirement from the High Court he was called back into public service through his appointment[2] to conduct a Commission of Inquiry into the outbreak of equine influenza in Australia. [3] His report was handed down in April 2008.

[edit] Honours

  • He received Australia's highest civil honour when he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2003 for his services to the law, arts and the community.
  • He received the Centenary Medal in 2001 for his service as a Justice of the High Court of Australia.
  • In 2007 he was made a life member of the Australian Bar Association.
  • Also in 2007 he was appointed an Hon. Fellow of the Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators in Australia.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Lenah Game Meats Pty Ltd (2001) 208 CLR 199
  2. ^ Ian Callinan is to head an inquiry into the outbreak of Equine Influenza into Australia (http://www.theage.com.au/news/horse-racing/howard-announces-ei-inquiry/2007/09/02/1188671781457.html)
  3. ^ Equine Influenza Inquiry
 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

[edit] External links

Queensland Courts Website - history of the Queensland Bar. Pages on Hon. IDF Callinan AC:

  • [2] (Legal career)
  • [3] (Sport and arts).


Justices of the High Court of Australia
Chief Justices of Australia
Griffith · Knox · Isaacs · Gavan Duffy · Latham · Dixon · Barwick · Gibbs · Mason · Brennan · Gleeson
Puisne Justices
Barton · O'Connor · Higgins · Powers · Piddington · Rich · Starke · Evatt · McTiernan · Williams · Webb · Fullagar · Kitto · Taylor · Menzies · Windeyer · Owen · Walsh · Stephen · Jacobs · Murphy · Aickin · Wilson · Deane · Dawson · Toohey · Gaudron · McHugh · Gummow · Kirby · Hayne · Callinan · Heydon · Crennan · Kiefel
current Justices are in italics