The Hon Justice Sarah C Derrington AM

Justice Sarah Derrington was President of the Australian Law Reform Commission from 9 January 2018 to 9 January 2023.

Prior to her appointment to the Federal Court, Justice Derrington was the Dean of Law at the University of Queensland and a barrister specialised in maritime and shipping law, general commercial law and arbitration. With James M Turner QC of the English Bar, she co-authored The Law and Practice of Admiralty Matters, now in its second edition (OUP, 2016), and is the co-author (with MWD White OAM QC) of Australian Maritime Law 4^th Ed (Federation Press, 2020).

Justice Derrington is a Past President of the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand (MLAANZ) and continues to represent Australia and New Zealand in various international working groups of the Comité Maritime International (CMI), of which she was appointed a Titular Member in 2016. Between 2012 and 2017, she served on the board of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). She has been a member of the Admiralty Rules Committee since 2006 and continues to serve on the Councils of the Australian Maritime College (AMC) and the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM). She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Law in 2009, of the Nautical Institute in 2013, and of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018, and an Honorary Bencher of Gray’s Inn in 2021.

During her appointment as President of the ALRC in January 2018, the ALRC has published the following reports:

• Integrity, Fairness and Efficiency – An Inquiry into Class Actions and Third-party Litigation Funders (ALRC Report 134);
• Family Law for the Future: An Inquiry into the Family Law System (ALRC Report 135);
• Corporate Criminal Responsibility (ALRC Report 136);
• Financial Services Legislation: Interim Report A (ALRC Report 137);
• Without Fear or Favour: Judicial Impartiality and the Law on Bias (ALRC Report 138); and
• Financial Services Legislation: Interim Report B (ALRC Report 139).

View speeches, presentations and articles by the Hon Justice Sarah C Derrington AM.