12.12.2012
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) welcomes the appointment by the Federal Attorney-General, the Hon Nicola Roxon, of Justice Middleton and Justice Perram as part-time Commissioners for a period of three years.
ALRC President Professor Rosalind Croucher stated, “We are delighted to welcome Justice Middleton and Justice Perram to the ALRC, joining our current part-time Commissioner Justice Berna Collier. Part-time Commissioners provide guidance to the ALRC in identifying the key issues involved in a particular inquiry, advice in the research and consultation effort and contribute to the process of formulating final recommendations for legal reform. With their considerable experience, the ALRC has a formidable team. ”
Justice Middleton joined the Federal Court of Australia in July 2006. He was appointed a Deputy President of the Australian Competition Tribunal in 2009 and a presidential member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in 2010. Justice Middleton graduated from the University of Melbourne as Bachelor of Laws and from the University of Oxford as Bachelor of Civil Law and was the Winter Williams Scholar (University of Oxford 1976). He was admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1976. Justice Middleton was called to the Bar in 1979 where he practised predominantly in Constitutional and Administrative Law, Resources Law and Commercial Law. He was appointed one of Her Majesty’s Counsel for the State of Victoria in 1991 and subsequently became Chairman of the Victorian Bar Council. Justice Middleton was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003 for services as a former Chairman of the Bar Council, to the community and to education.
Justice Nye Perram was appointed to the Federal Court in August 2008. He graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws and from the University of Oxford with a Bachelor of Civil Law. Justice Perram practised as a barrister in New South Wales from 1993 and was appointed senior counsel in 2006. At the time of his appointment he was a member of the Law and Justice Foundation and the New South Wales Bar Council. Justice Perram has specialised in constitutional law, administrative law, commercial law and equity. In 2005, he was a Director of the Public Interest Law Clearing House, an independent, not-for-profit legal referral service. He is currently Deputy President of the Copyright Tribunal.
Professor Croucher stated, “I would also like to take this opportunity to both farewell and thank Justice Susan Kenny, whose nine-year term as a part-time Commissioner ended in July this year. Justice Kenny contributed to many important ALRC inquiries during that time, including the landmark Privacy Inquiry and more recently to our two Family Violence inquiries, Discovery Inquiry and the Classification Review. Her advice and insights have been greatly valued by us all.
These new appointments have come at an important time for the ALRC, as we work towards finalising our recommendations for the Age Barriers to Work Inquiry—with a final report due in March 2013—and submissions to our Issues Paper for the Copyright Inquiry having just closed. Our part-time Commissioners will have much to involve themselves in over the coming months”.
Further information about the ALRC’s inquiry work can be found at www.alrc.gov.au.