Sir Kevin Anderson QC | |
|---|---|
| Judge of theSupreme Court of Victoria | |
| In office 29 April 1969 – 4 September 1984 | |
| Preceded by | New seat |
| Succeeded by | John Phillips |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1912 |
| Died | 14 October 1999(1999-10-14) (aged 86–87) |
| Education | Xavier College |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
Sir Kevin Victor AndersonQC (1912 – 14 October 1999) was an Australian lawyer and judge who served on theSupreme Court of Victoria from 1969 to 1984.
Anderson was educated atXavier College,Melbourne, and became a clerk of courts in what is now theMagistrates Court of Victoria on leaving school in 1929. He completed a part-timeBachelor of Laws at theUniversity of Melbourne in 1937. During theSecond World War he was commissioned in theRoyal Australian Navy, and served in Operations and Naval Intelligence. Towards the end of the War, he was a liaison officer in theManila headquarters of GeneralDouglas MacArthur, and was present at the Japanese surrender inTokyo Bay in September 1945. He was admitted to theVictorian Bar on 24 November 1945 and became aQueen's Counsel (QC) on 14 August 1962.[1]
As a QC, Anderson was appointed in late 1963 as a one-manBoard of Inquiry into Scientology that sat until April 1965. He concluded that it was "a delusional belief system, based on fiction and fallacies and propagated by falsehood and deception" that was "a serious threat to the community, medically, morally and socially". His report influenced Victoria and other states to enact (or attempt to enact) banning Scientology.[2] It is regarded as controversial by theHuman Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission,[3] in the context of the recognition of new religious movements in Australia's increasinglymulticultural society.[4]
Anderson served as Chairman of theVictorian Bar Council in 1966–1967, and on 29 April 1969 he was appointed to theSupreme Court of Victoria. He became a figure of controversy in 1971 when the Victorian Parliament passed the secondEvidence (Boards and Commissions) Act. This Act amended theEvidence Act, 1958 to grant retrospective immunity from suit to persons who had been associated with aRoyal Commission or a Board of Inquiry, equivalent to the immunity of those associated with an action in the Supreme Court. In his autobiographyFossil in the Sandstone, Anderson quipped that this legislation was known informally as the 'Anderson Protection Act' because its immediate effect was to protect him and his assisting counsel Gordon Just from writs issued in the Supreme Court on 28 April 1970 that charged them with misfeasance, breach of duty and recklessness[5] during their conduct of the Inquiry into Scientology.
Anderson was knighted on 14 June 1980 and retired from the bench on 31 August 1984. He was a devoutCatholic, and after his retirement argued for the retention of the traditional swearing-in of witnesses in court.[6] He died on 14 October 1999 aged 87. He and his wife Claire (who predeceased him) had six daughters and 20 grandchildren.
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