The New South Wales Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, is the highest court for civil matters and has appellate jurisdiction in the Australian state of New South Wales.
The Court of Appeal operates pursuant to the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW). The Court hears appeals from a variety of courts and tribunals in New South Wales, in particular the Supreme Court, the Industrial Court, the Land and Environment Court, the District Court, the Dust Diseases Tribunal, the Workers Compensation Commission, and the Government and Related Employees Appeal Tribunal.[1] The Court of Appeal must grant leave to appeal a judgment of an inferior court, before it hears the appeal proper.
If a petitioner is not satisfied with the decision made by the Court of Appeal, application may be made to the High Court of Australia for special leave to appeal the decision before the High Court. Because special leave is only granted by the High Court under certain conditions, the Court of Appeal is in effect a court of final appeal for many matters.
The Court of Appeal was established in 1965, replacing the former appellate Full Court of the New South Wales Supreme Court,[2] and commenced operations on 1 January 1966 with the appointment of the President, Sir Gordon Wallace, and six Judges of Appeal, Bernard Sugerman, Charles McLelland, Cyril Walsh, Kenneth Jacobs, Kenneth Asprey and John Holmes Dashwood. The advent of the Court of Appeal was controversial, as it introduced another order and unexpectedly uprooted the established order of hierarchy and seniority among judges of the Supreme Court.[2]
The Court of Appeal, as of March 2024[update], consists of the Chief Justice of New South Wales, the President of the Court of Appeal and the judges of appeal. Apart from the Chief Justice and the President of the Court, there are nine judges of appeal with current commissions. Traditionally two of them are heads of the Common Law Division and the Equity Division, and sit full-time in those Divisions as primary judges. The Chief Judge at Common Law is currently Ian Harrison, while the Chief Judge at Equity is currently David Hammerschlag.[3] The chief judges will on occasion sit as appeal judges from time to time.
The Governor can appoint Acting Judges of Appeal. They have all rights and powers as a Judge of Appeal. There are presently two acting judges of appeal, John Griffiths and John Basten. Each sit full-time in the Court of Appeal, although will hear primary cases in the Divisions as the need arises.[3]
| Name | Title | Term began | Time in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Bell | Chief Justice | 7 March 2022 | 2 years, 100 days | [4] |
| Julie Ward | President, Court of Appeal | 7 March 2022 | 2 years, 100 days | [5] |
| Anthony Meagher | Judge of Appeal | 10 August 2011 | 12 years, 310 days | [3] |
| Fabian Gleeson | 29 April 2013 | 11 years, 47 days | ||
| Mark Leeming | 3 June 2013 | 11 years, 12 days | ||
| Anthony Payne | 30 March 2016 | 8 years, 77 days | ||
| Richard White | 15 March 2017 | 7 years, 92 days | ||
| Anna Mitchelmore | 28 March 2022 | 2 years, 79 days | ||
| Jeremy Kirk | 21 April 2022 | 2 years, 55 days | ||
| Christine Adamson | 7 December 2022 | 1 year, 191 days | ||
| Kristina Stern | 8 June 2023 | 1 year, 7 days | ||
| Ian Harrison | Chief Judge at Common Law |
9 November 2023 | 219 days | [6] |
| David Hammerschlag | Chief Judge in Equity | 17 March 2022 | 2 years, 90 days | [7] |
| John Griffiths | Acting Judge of Appeal | 10 April 2022 | 2 years, 66 days | |
| John Basten | Acting Judge of Appeal | 17 April 2022 | 2 years, 59 days |
Most judges in the Court of Appeal also sit on the Court of Criminal Appeal in varying degrees of frequency. The Chief Judge at Common Law and the Chief Judge in Equity also sit on the Court of Appeal (and the Court of Criminal Appeal) from time to time.
| Name | Appointment commenced |
Appointment ended |
Term as President |
Comments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Gordon Wallace | 1 January 1966 | 21 January 1970 | 4 years, 20 days | Retired | |
| Sir Bernard Sugerman | 2 January 1970 | 30 September 1972 | 2 years, 252 days | Retired | |
| Sir Kenneth Jacobs KBE | 1 October 1972 | 7 February 1974 | 1 year, 129 days | Appointed to the High Court | |
| Athol Moffitt CMG | 8 February 1974 | 25 June 1984 | 10 years, 138 days | Retired | |
| Michael Kirby AC CMG | 24 September 1984 | 6 February 1996 | 11 years, 135 days | Appointed to the High Court | |
| Dennis Mahoney AO | 19 February 1996 | 3 February 1997 | 350 days | Retired. | |
| Keith Mason AC | 4 February 1997 | 30 May 2008 | 11 years, 183 days | Retired | |
| James Allsop AO | 1 June 2008 | 28 February 2013 | 4 years, 272 days | Appointed Chief Justice of the Federal Court | |
| Margaret Beazley AO | 1 March 2013 | 27 February 2019 | 5 years, 363 days | Appointed Governor of NSW | |
| Andrew Bell | 28 February 2019 | 7 March 2022 | 3 years, 7 days | Appointed Chief Justice of New South Wales | [8][4] |
| Julie Ward | 7 March 2022 | 2 years, 100 days | [5] |
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