The High Court bench of Australia. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
For the first time in Australian history, there will be more female High Court judges than male with experts calling this a major step forward.
With the appointment of Justice Jayne Jagot this coming Monday there will be four female justices. She’ll be joining the likes of Chief Justice Susan Kiefel, Justice Michelle Gordon and Justice Jacqueline Gleeson.
Dr Heather Roberts from Australian National University (ANU) College of Law mentioned that it’s been 35 years since the first female Justice Mary Gaudron was sworn in.
“When Justice Gaudron was sworn in, she was the only female voice and the only female officially recorded as being present,” said Dr Roberts.
The ANU professor said the appointment of Justice Jagot goes to show that no matter what background you come from, you can achieve incredible things.
“Justice Jagot is universally recognised as a brilliant legal mind and brings her lived experience as a child of migrants and attending public schools,” Dr Roberts said.
“She is an example that the search for leadership and talent should not be confined to a narrow, privileged elite. It is vitally important to the legitimacy of the courts that they should reflect the broad experiences of the Australian community.”
Dr Roberts added that the swearing in ceremony is over 100 years old and dates back to Sir Samuel Griffith, who was sworn in as the first Australian Justice in 1903.
“The ceremony provides a rare glimpse of judges as people – with families and hobbies – and to hear how their professional careers developed,” Dr Roberts said.
“More recent ceremonies have recognised the discrimination that women lawyers faced in breaking the glass ceilings of the profession, and the importance of women judges as role models for both male and female lawyers, and of a diverse judiciary.”
“While Australia will become one of a few countries worldwide with a female majority on its apex court, this does not mean that Australia should become complacent in working toward the goal of judicial diversity.”
