Three part-time Commissioners appointed to the ALRC

The ALRC welcomes  the re-appointment of Justice Berna Collier to the ALRC for a further period of three years, along with the appointment of two new part-time Commissioners specifically for the current Inquiry into Discovery of Documents in Federal Courts, the Honourable Justice Arthur Emmett and the Honourable Justice Bruce Lander—both for a period of six months.

Justice Collier was appointed a part-time Commissioner of the ALRC in October 2007. She has been a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, based in Brisbane, since February 2006. Prior to this she was one of three national Commissioners of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a position she held from 5 November 2001, and a director of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority from November 2001 until June 2003.

Justice Emmett has been a judge of the Federal Court of Australia since February 1997, and is a member of the corporations, patent, admiralty and taxation panels of the Federal Court’s New South Wales registry. Justice Emmett has been the President of the Copyright Tribunal since October 2007, after having served as the Deputy President from April 2001. Justice Emmett was appointed Queen’s Counsel in New South Wales in 1985 and in May 2009 the University of Sydney conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa).

Justice Lander was appointed to the Federal Court of Australia in July 2003, after serving as a judge of the Supreme Court of Australia from 1994–2003, and is the Convenor of the Rules Committee and the Rules Revision Committee of the Federal Court.  He is a Judge on the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island, an Additional Judge on the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. Justice Lander is also a Presidential Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. In 1986 Justice Lander was appointed Queen’s Counsel.

ALRC President Professor Rosalind Croucher stated, “We are delighted both to retain the involvement of Justice Collier in our work, and to welcome Justice Emmet and Justice Lander. They join our current part-time Commissioner Justice Susan Kenny and together form a formidable team.”

Part-time Commissioners are members of the ALRC under s 6 of the Australian Law Reform Commission Act 1996 (Cth). The principal role is an advisory one for ALRC inquiries. Part-time Commissioners may be appointed for a period of years or specifically for an inquiry and provide advice and assistance to the ALRC in identifying the key issues involved in a particular inquiry and providing advice in the research and consultation effort and in the process of formulating final recommendations for legal reform.

Professor Croucher stated, “These appointments are timely, as the ALRC is just about to release its consultation paper in the Discovery Inquiry, and submissions will be due on the proposals contained in this document by mid-January. We will then be focusing on preparing our final Report which is due to be presented to the Attorney-General by the end of March. So our new Commissioners will be hitting the ground running!”

Further information about the ALRC’s Discovery Inquiry can be found at https://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiries/discovery.