This article is about Australian High Court judge Michael Kirby. For the article on the Canadian Senator of the same name see Michael J. L. Kirby. Michael J. L. Kirby (born August 5, 1941) is a Canadian politician. ...

Justice Michael Kirby

Michael Donald Kirby (1939- ) AC CMG is a Justice of the High Court of Australia; the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG A Justice of the High Court of Australia. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... High Court entrance The High Court of Australia is the court of last resort for the jurisdiction of Australia. ... There are two broad levels within the hierarchy of Australian courts, the federal level and the state and territory level. ...

Usage note: As a High Court justice, Kirby is known as 'Justice Kirby', commonly abbreviated in documents as 'Kirby J'.

Education

Kirby attended Fort Street High School in Sydney, and received his Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Arts and Master of Laws from the University of Sydney. Fort Street High School is a coeducational, academically selective high school currently located in Petersham, Sydney, Australia. ... Sydney is the capital city of the Australian state of New South Wales and Australias largest and oldest city (founded in 1788). ... The University of Sydney The University of Sydney, established in 1850, is the oldest university in Australia, and it is located in Sydney, the capital city of the state of New South Wales. ...

Working life

Kirby was admitted to the New South Wales Bar (earned the right to practice as a barrister) in 1967. His first quasi-judicial appointment was the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, a body that adjudicates labour disputes, in 1975. Motto: Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites (Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine) Nickname: First State, Premier State Other Australian states and territories Capital Sydney Government Governor Premier Const. ... The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

From 1983 to 1984, he was a judge in the Federal Court of Australia and the youngest person ever appointed as a Federal judge, before an appointment as President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, the highest court in that state's legal system. He was appointed to the High Court of Australia in February 1996. 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This page is about the year 1984. ... In Melbourne, the Federal Court is housed with other federal courts such as the High Court and the Federal Magistrates Court in the Federal Court Building on the corner of La Trobe Street and William Street The Federal Court of Australia is the Australian court in which most civil disputes... High Court entrance The High Court of Australia is the court of last resort for the jurisdiction of Australia. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

He has served on many other boards and committees, notably the Australian Law Reform Commission and the CSIRO. He is Patron of the Friends of Libraries Australia (FOLA). The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is the national government body for scientific research in Australia. ...

Honours

He received Australia's highest civil honour when he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1991. He is also a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG). The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established by Queen Elizabeth II on February 14, 1975 for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service. The Order includes three classes in general and military divisions, in descending order of... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... On the Orders insignia, St Michael is often depicted subduing Satan. ...

Legal record

Justice Kirby is regarded as the inheritor of the Mason Court's "progressive tradition". His Judgements are regarded as liberal in their approach as well as exhibiting compassion and thoughtfulness. He is vocal on a number of issues, particularly homosexuality.

In 2004 he delivered a dissenting opinion on nearly 40% of the judgments in which he participated, almost twice as many as any of his High Court colleagues; in constitutional cases, his rate of dissent was more than 50%. Legal researchers Andrew Lynch and George Williams observed that "even allowing for 2004 as a year in which Kirby J had a particularly high level of explicit disagreement with a majority of his colleagues, it is neither premature nor unfair to say that in the frequency of his dissent, his Honour has long since eclipsed any other Justice in the history of the Court... [Kirby] has broken away to claim a position of outsider on the Court which seems unlikely to pass with future years."[1] A dissenting opinion is an opinion of one or more judges in an appellate court expressing disagreement with the majority opinion. ...

He is also renowned for the depth of research into past cases that goes into his judgments.

Social activism

Kirby publicly supported the "no" case in a prominent role with Australians for Constitutional Monarchy in the 1999 Republican referendum - see republicanism in Australia for more information - a position perhaps superficially at odds with his "progressive" views on many other issues. Australians for Constitutional Monarchy (ACM) was founded in June 1992 to defend the Australian Constitution, the role of the Crown in it, and to preserve the role of the Queen of Australia, represented by the Governor-General, as Australias constitutional head of state. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Australian republicanism is a movement within Australia to replace the countrys existing status as a Commonwealth realm under a constitutional monarchy with a republican form of government. ...

Kirby is regarded as an eloquent and powerful orator, having given a vast number of speeches over his career on a diverse range of topics. In November 2003, at the University of Exeter, Kirby delivered two lectures[2][3] on the subject of judicial activism. Rejecting the doctrine of strict constructionism, Kirby declared that "Clearly it would be wrong for a judge to set out in pursuit of a personal policy agenda and hang the law. Yet it would also be wrong, and futile, for a judge to pretend that the solutions to all of the complex problems of the law today, unresolved by incontestably clear and applicable texts, can be answered by the application of nothing more than purely verbal reasoning and strict logic to words written by judges in earlier times about the problems they then faced." 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The University of Exeter is the principal University in the English city of Exeter, in Devon. ... Judicial activism refers to judicial decisions which do not follow precedent or which exceed the scope of established law. ... Strict constructionism is a philosophy of judicial interpretation and legal philosophy that holds to the meanings of words and phrases as used when they were written down. ...

These lectures sparked a debate in the Australian media, echoing an ongoing debate in the USA, as to whether judges have the right to interpret the law in the light of its intent and considerations of natural law or simply follow it to the letter, leaving questions of its intent and underlying principles to elected representatives. The natural law or law of nature is a system of the justice that exists independently of the positive law of a given political order. ...

Homosexuality

Kirby is open about his homosexuality, having outed himself by mentioning his long-time male partner Johan van Vloten in Australia's Who's Who. He has on occasion spoken publicly about his views on the recognition of homosexual partnerships. Since its inception, the term homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... Whos Who is the name of a number of publications, generally containing concise biographical information on a particular group of people. ...

This openness has on occasion drawn criticism. Kirby's Who's Who entry indicates that his relationship with van Vloten began well before 1984, the year that homosexuality was legalised in New South Wales. His critics have queried whether a man who (apparently) disobeyed the law as it then existed should be serving as a judge; this criticism has been somewhat dampened by a widespread modern-day belief that the law of the time was in the wrong. This page is about the year 1984. ...

One of Kirby's best-known critics is Liberal senator Bill Heffernan. In 2002, Heffernan used parliamentary privilege to accuse Kirby of trawling for rent boys. However, the evidence Heffernan produced to support this claim was swiftly discovered to be a forgery; the incident is discussed in more detail at Bill Heffernan. Kirby's response was remarkable for its moderation and his willingness to let the facts speak for themselves. The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian liberal conservative political party. ... Bill Heffernan is an Australian Liberal senator representing New South Wales. ... 2002 (MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Parliamentary privilege is a legal mechanism employed within the legislative bodies of countries whose constitutions are based on the Westminster system. ... Prostitution is the sale of sexual services, such as oral sex or sexual intercourse, for money. ... Bill Heffernan is an Australian Liberal senator representing New South Wales. ...