VIC

VIC: 2022 Victorian Chapter Oration by Mark Weinberg AO QC – 21 July

The Hon Mark Weinberg AO QC Special Investigator, Office of the Special Investigator, on 21 July delivered the 2022 HAL Victorian Chapter Oration on the topic “The Investigation and Prosecution in Australia of Alleged War Crimes”.

The Hon Mark Weinberg AO QC was admitted to practice in New South Wales in 1974, and in Victoria in 1975.

In 1975 he joined the academic staff of the University of Melbourne, where he held various positions in the Faculty of Law, culminating in Dean of the Faculty from 1984 to 1985. He was Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions from 1988 to 1991.

Mark Weinberg was appointed to the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria in July 2008.

His Honour was a judge of the Federal Court of Australia from 1998 to 2008 and previously held a series of additional judicial and other appointments.

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017. He was awarded the degree of LLD (Honoris Causa) by Monash University in October 2017.

Mark Weinberg was appointed a Reserve Judge of the Court of Appeal from 8 May 2018, and continued to sit regularly, and on a full-time basis, until his appointment by the Australian Government as the Special Investigator.

The Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) is working with the Australian Federal Police to investigate allegations of criminal conduct related to breaches of the Laws of Armed Conflict by members of the Australian Defence Force in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2016.

The Special Investigator and the OSI provide strategic advice on investigative strategies, prioritisation and resourcing to the joint investigation.

The Honourable Justice Emilios Kyrou, the Honourable Mark Weinberg AO QC and HAL Victorian Chapter Chair Mr Andrew Panna QC at the 2022 HAL Victorian Chapter Oration.

HAL National Vice-President Mr Paul Zaparas, HAL National President Mr Joseph Tsalanidis, the Honourable Justice Emilios Kyrou, the Honourable Mark Weinberg AO QC, HAL Victorian Chapter Chair Mr Andrew Panna QC, Miss Eve Panna and Miss Madelane Panna at the 2022 HAL Victorian Chapter Oration.

23 July, 2022 in National, VIC

VIC: POSTPONED – “Observations from the Bench”, with The Honourable Justice Lex Lasry AM

Due to the current COVID restrictions in Victoria, the Victorian Chapter of HAL has decided to postpone the 4 August function “Observations from the Bench”, with the Honourable Justice Lex Lasry AM.

It is hoped to now hold the event in late October.

Members will be informed when a date has been finalised.

All persons who have registered and already paid for the 4 August event through Trybooking are entitled to a refund.

Andrew Panna QC
Chair, Victorian Chapter of Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association

25 July, 2021 in VIC

VIC: The Pitfalls of Lawyers Communicating with the Media, by the Hon Justice Emilios Kyrou

The Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association facilitated a presentation by the Honourable Justice Emilios Kyrou entitled “Pitfalls of Lawyers communicating with the media” online via Webex on 2 June 2021.

You can view a paper on his presentation here: Pitfalls of Lawyers communicating with the media

Justice Kyrou canvassed the risks to lawyers when communicating with the media, including:

Breach of confidence
Breach of professional conduct rules
Contempt of court
Waiver of privilege
Misleading or deceptive conduct

HAL members from around the country joined the virtual presentation, with more than 150 registering for the event.

Justice Kyrou is a Judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

He was appointed to that position in July 2014 after serving as a trial Judge since May 2008.

HAL financial members who attend the webinar may earn 1 CPD point in Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

3 June, 2021 in National, VIC

VIC: Chapter Oration by Professor Josiah Ober – “Lessons from the ancient Greeks on relations between States – the limits of rational behaviour” – 28 Nov 2019

Professor Josiah Ober, Mitsotakis Professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University, delivered this year’s Oration for the Victorian Chapter of Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association.

Professor Ober addressed the topic “Lessons from the ancient Greeks on relations between States – the limits of rational behaviour”.

The Professor works on the history of institutions and on legal and political theory, with an emphasis on democracy and on the political thought and practice of the ancient Greek world.

It was held on 28 November 2019 at The RACV Club in Melbourne, and was followed by a reception.

Guests included the Patron of the Victorian Chapter of HAL, the Honourable Emilios Kyrou, Justice of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria, as well as members of the Victorian legal fraternity, and representatives of HAL from other state chapters.

Synopsis of Professor Ober’s Oration

Thucydides’ great history of the Peloponnesian War is much more than a brilliant year-by-year narrative of a terrible and lengthy conflict.

It is also a profound meditation on international relations. Thucydides has often been read as a simple sort of “Realist” – a theorist of power relations under conditions of inter-state anarchy. But that characterization misses his deep exploration of the non-zero-sum bargains struck between great and small states, and the tragic consequences of bargaining failures.

Thucydides probes the motivations that lead small states to acquiesce to the hegemonic authority of a great power, and the motives that lead the residents of a small state to resist incorporation into an empire.

Thucydides wrote his work “as a possession for all time” – and indeed, his analysis of rationality and irrationality in relations between states offers timeless insights into how multi-state systems flourish and fail.

Professor Ober has provided source material relating to this Oration: