Sir Gerard Brennan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chief Justice of Australia | |
| In office 21 April 1995 – 21 May 1998 | |
| Nominated by | Paul Keating |
| Appointed by | Bill Hayden |
| Preceded by | Anthony Mason |
| Succeeded by | Murray Gleeson |
| Justice of the High Court of Australia | |
| In office 12 February 1981 – 21 April 1995 | |
| Appointed by | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | Harry Gibbs |
| Succeeded by | William Gummow |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Francis Gerard Brennan (1928-05-22)22 May 1928 Rockhampton,Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 1 June 2022(2022-06-01) (aged 94) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 7, includingFrank |
Sir Francis Gerard Brennan (22 May 1928 – 1 June 2022) was an Australian lawyer and jurist who served as the 10thChief Justice of Australia. As a judge in the High Court of Australia, he wrote the lead judgement on theMabo decision, which gave rise to theNative Title Act.
Brennan was born on 22 May 1928, inRockhampton,Queensland.[1] He was the son ofFrank Tenison Brennan, aLabor Party politician, lawyer and judge of theSupreme Court of Queensland.[2][3] He was raised as, and continued to be, aCatholic and has said: "Egalitarianism, tolerance and the respect for conscience are the practical manifestations of faith, hope and charity."[4]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: his legal training? what he did as a lawyer before becoming a judge? Perhaps a line of two about the Mabo case? Any other cases? president of two Bar Associations and the founding president of theAdministrative Appeals Tribunal.... You can help byadding missing information.(June 2022) |
Prime MinisterMalcolm Fraser appointed Brennan to the court in 1981.[3] As a High Court judge, Brennan wrote the lead judgement on theMabo decision, which overturned the doctrine ofterra nullius used to justify theCrown's sovereignty over Australia, replacing it with the doctrine ofnative title, and thus protecting Aboriginal people's claims to land.[5] This decision eventually gave rise to theNative Title Act.[6] Brennan is also notable for his landmark judgement inWaltons v Maher, which establishedequitable estoppel as a cause of action in itself.[7]
He was appointed by prime ministerPaul Keating to become the 10thChief Justice of Australia in 1995.[8]
Following his retirement from the High Court, Brennan was a non-permanent judge of theHong Kong Court of Final Appeal (2000-2012)[9] and an external judge of the Supreme Court of Fiji (1999–2000), chancellor of theUniversity of Technology Sydney (1998–2004) and Foundation Scientia Professor of Law at theUniversity of New South Wales (1998). He was an honorary visiting professor of law at theUniversity of New South Wales.
In a 2001 exchange of letters with ArchbishopGeorge Pell, he defended theprimacy of conscience over obedience to authority.[10]
In June 2021, Brennan intervened in a public debate over afamily of asylum seekers, supporting the family with a letter in major newspapers.[11] It begins:
In 1953, Brennan married Patricia O'Hara. Lady Brennan died on 3 September 2019.[13] Their first child,Frank Brennan, born in 1954, became aJesuitpriest, a human rights lawyer and an advocate for the rights ofAboriginal peoples.[4][1] He is known for his involvement in theWik debate whenPaul Keating referred to him as "the meddling priest".[14] Their second child, Madeline Brennan KC, is a barrister in Brisbane[15] and has served as a director of a number of Catholic health and education providers. Their third child Dr Anne Brennan is a psychiatrist who came to prominence in theBarrett Adolescent Centre Commission of Inquiry.[16] Their fourth child Tom Brennan SC is a barrister in Sydney.[17] A son Paul was CEO of Polynovo Ltd an ASX listed biotechnology manufacturer until his resignation in 2021. A daughter,Bernadette,[18] is the author of renowned literary biographiesThis Writing Life: Helen Garner and her Work; andLeaping into Waterfalls: The Enigmatic Gillian Mears.
Brennan died on 1 June 2022 in Sydney, aged 94,[19][1][20] two days beforeMabo Day and the 30th anniversary of the Mabo decision.[6][21]
In 1981, Brennan was appointed aKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire[22] and, in 1988, appointed aCompanion of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to the law.[23]
Brennan was awarded honorary degrees by theUniversity of Melbourne (Hon.LL.D.), theUniversity of Technology, Sydney (Hon. LL.D.), theUniversity of Queensland (Hon. LL.D.),Griffith University (Hon. D.Univ.),Central Queensland University (Hon. D.Litt.),Trinity College Dublin (Hon. LL.D.) and theAustralian Catholic University (Hon LL.D). He was a life fellow of theAustralian Academy of Law.[24] He served as chancellor of the University of Technology, Sydney, from 1998 to 2004.[25]
In 2013, Brennan was awarded theGold Bauhinia Star by theChief Executive of Hong Kong.[26]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chief Justice of Australia 1995–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by none | Chancellor of theUniversity of Technology Sydney 1998–2004 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| People | |
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