Justice William Charles Crockett AO - Victorian Bar

More documents

Recommendations

Info

this conversation!Some Biblical commentators explainthis anomaly by saying that the conversationwith Jethro and Moses actually tookplace “after” the revelation of the TenCommandments, and in this instance,the Biblical narrative is not in chronologicalorder. Which begs the question, whyis it that the Torah needs to locate thisconversation before the giving of the TenCommandments?Perhaps the message is this: before wecan speak meaningfully about the lawsthemselves, we must first clarify how theyare to be given real expression; how thelaw is to be systematically applied in reallife. Without a means of bringing the lawto the people, the law itself cannot live.And what’s more, it cannot rely onone person, however well-intentioned.What is called for is a judiciary, a systemof legal adjudication. And by establishingthis thousands of years ago, the Torah isemphasizing that Jewish law is based onprinciples, not personalities.Not that the Torah is suggesting thatMoses would project his personality intohis role as law-giver and judge. Rather, itis simply underlining a vital notion, onethat is definitional to law itself – that is,that law must be based on principles, notpersonalities … not the personalities ofthe judges, nor of the accused. The ruleof law is the means of building a stableand civil society. One need only read theopening passages of the constitutions ofthe Victorian Bar, or the Law Council, tosee that this notion is well-ensconced inthe legal psyche of Australia.And Judaism recognizes this truth notjust “within” the Jewish legal framework,but within civil society as well. The primaryexpression of this idea is the rabbinicdictum, Dina d’Malchuta Dina, thatis, the law of the civil authority has Jewishlegal import. In other words, to be a trulydevout Jew, one must also follow the lawsof the civil authority. So, paying your taxesessentially becomes a religious exercise!One wonders what the ATO would dowith that!And by extension, this means that thework of those assembled here today inthe legal profession, as you strive to fairlypresent people’s cases to the best of yourabilities, or when you work to adjudicatejustly, then your work is holy work.And while the civil year has just begun,we await another New Year’s Day thisSaturday, which marks the Festival of Tub’ Shevat, the Jewish New Year for thetrees. It is with that in mind that I quotethe famous teaching of R’ Elazar benJustice Habersberger and PhillipSheezle of Rigby Cooke.Joshua Kohn, Rabbi Shamir Caplan and Deborah Mandie.Azariah, in the Chapters of our Fathers,who used to say:Anyone whose wisdom exceeds his gooddeeds, to what is he likened? To a treewhose branches are numerous but whoseroots are few; then the wind comes anduproots it and turns it upside down, as itis said in Jeremiah “and he shall be like anisolated tree in an arid land and shall notsee when good comes; he shall dwell onparched soil in the wilderness, on a saltedland, uninhabited.” But one whose gooddeeds exceed his wisdom, to what is he likened?To a tree whose branches are few butwhose roots are numerous; even if all thewinds in the world were to come and blowagainst it, they could not budge it from itsplace; as it is said (also in Jeremiah) “Andhe shall be like a tree planted by waters,toward the stream spreading its roots, andit shall not notice the heat’s arrival, and itsfoliage shall be fresh; in the year of droughtit shall not worry, nor shall it cease fromyielding fruit.”Indeed, while wisdom is of course acrucial part of the picture, it must betranslated into action. It is our good deeds— our constant striving to apply the wisdomof the law justly and fairly to peoplein their real lives — that establishes themost profound roots in our society, thatyields the sweetest fruit. May we beblessed to humbly go about our business,and to always sense the sacred nature ofour work … and may our strivings for justicealways bear fruit. Amen.58
News and ViewsBuddhist ObservanceThe Fo Guang Yuan Art GalleryTHE Buddhist ceremony this yearwas the third of its kind and isunique to Melbourne.The ceremony was in the temple ofthe Fo Guang Yuan art gallery in QueenStreet, which is a wonderful space andan amazing art gallery. There is also awonderful kitchen that serves vegetariancuisine at lunchtime.The shrine room at the top of buildingwas used for the ceremony.There was chanting, a reading of theHeart Sutra, an opening prayer fromMaster Hsing Yun and guided meditationfrom the Venerables Young Wei and MiaoLai, who are both connected to the temple.Their tradition is the Buddha LightInternational Association, a Chinese traditionin Buddhism.Participants were also given theunique opportunity to ask questions ofthe Venerable Miao Lai.An engaging Dharma talk was given bythe Venerable Chi Kwang Sumim aroundthe subject of justice and what that meansfrom a Buddhist perspective. She is from aKorean tradition of Buddhism.Everyone left the ceremony calmer,filled with tea and beautiful sweets andwith a gift from the Fo Guang YuanTemple.Venerable Young Wei, Venerable Chi Kwang and Venerable Miao Lei.59
Page 6:
Gummow and Kirby JJ held that forsu
Page 9 and 10: Attorney-General’s ColumnSuccess
Page 11: Practice PageLegal Profession Act 2
Page 17 and 18: 179 88 000 831 623 623 415180 90 00
Page 19 and 20: with this item and his or her charg
Page 21 and 22: Immediately his decisive mind, his
Page 23 and 24: he would discharge the jury on his
Page 25 and 26: stice Frank Hortin Callawayhe had b
Page 27 and 28: Notes1. Trade Practices Commission
Page 29 and 30: e Callawayfundamental to our freedo
Page 31 and 32: ourable Justice R.R.S.stice Michael
Page 33 and 34: show that he ought not to have been
Page 35 and 36: 1958 provides that the Court of App
Page 37 and 38: should be set aside on the groundth
Page 39 and 40: AN UNRESOLVED QUESTIONA tantalising
Page 41 and 42: News and ViewsTalking With Liars an
Page 43 and 44: unfair would be a clear instance of
Page 45 and 46: Senior Counsel in Victoriasuitabili
Page 47 and 48: Tribunals in the State; and(c) Beca
Page 49 and 50: The Archbishopof Melbourne TheMost
Page 51 and 52: The Most Reverend Dr Philip Freiera
Page 53 and 54: many as the stars and will become a
Page 55 and 56: Most Reverend Denis Hart DD,Archbis
Page 57: George Golvan QCVivien Lewenberg.Ly
Page 61 and 62: unny Laneway TraditionPaul Lacava S
Page 63 and 64: News and Viewsgiven much time to en
Page 65 and 66: Judge Judith Cohen, Justice Rosemar
Page 67 and 68: any American men speaking up whenAr
Page 69 and 70: sentence would not be written today
Page 71 and 72: efuse to tell him why. They argue t
Page 73 and 74: Santa arrives in his Porsche.Santa
Page 75 and 76: succession of two sadly missed stal
Page 77 and 78: Paul Lawrie and crew with the Thors
show all

Justice William Charles Crockett AO - Victorian Bar

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?