Ron Castan

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Ron Castan AM QC (1939-1999) was a distinguished barrister and human rights advocate. He played a leading role in some of Australia's most famous and groundbreaking cases, such as the Gove land rights case, Koowartha and the Franklin Dam case. Most famously, however, he acted as senior counsel in the Mabo case, which abolished the doctrine of terra nullius and recognised Aboriginal land rights in Australian law for the first time. Castan spent 10 years preparing and arguing the case on behalf of Eddie Mabo, for which he received widespread acclamation.[1]

He also played a leading role in the legislative discussions on Australian Native Title law throughout the 1990s, having devised the solution to the standoff in the Australian Senate over the Wik settlement. Additionally, he was a founder of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service.[2]

Although he is most famous for his work in constitutional and human rights law, Castan was an expert in many areas of law. For this reason, many believe that, were it not for his untimely death, he would have inevitably been appointed as a Justice of the High Court of Australia. The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University is named after him, where his daughter, Melissa Castan (herself a human rights scholar), is Deputy Director.[3]

He died suddenly at age 59 due to a complication following surgery.[4] After his death, tributes flowed from the legal and political community. Famously, after his death, he was described by Senator Aden Ridgeway as "the great white warrior against racism".[5]

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[edit] References

  1. ^ Liberty Online - The Victorian Council for Civil Liberties - November 1999
  2. ^ Ron Castan AM QC - Photography - National Portrait Gallery
  3. ^ Ron Castan AM QC (1939-1999)
  4. ^ LAUNCH OF THE CASTAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS LAW MELBOURNE, TUESDAY, 31 OCTOBER 2000
  5. ^ Ron Castan AM QC - Photography - National Portrait Gallery