John von Doussa
Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia | |
---|---|
In office 14 August 1986 – 30 November 1988 | |
Nominated by | John Bannon |
Preceded by | Howard Zelling |
Succeeded by | Kevin Duggan |
Personal details | |
Born | 17 September 1940 |
Education | St Peter's College, Adelaide |
Alma mater | University of Adelaide |
John William von Doussa
Early life
Von Doussa attended St Peter's College, Adelaide. He graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1962 with a Bachelor of Laws degree.[1] He was "the fourth generation of his family to take up law", and is a great-grandson of Louis von Doussa.[2]
Legal and judicial career
Von Doussa served his articles of clerkship with Thomson, Hogarth, Ross & Lewis, and was called to the bar in 1963. He served as president of the Law Society of South Australia from 1982 to 1983, and became one of the state's most prominent barristers. In 1986, von Doussa was appointed to the Supreme Court of South Australia. He was elevated to the Federal Court of Australia in 1988, where he would serve until 2003.[1]
In 1994 he presided over the landmark "
In 2001, von Doussa delivered a controversial judgment related to the Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy. He held that he was "not satisfied that the restricted women's knowledge was fabricated or that it was not part of genuine Aboriginal tradition". His ruling directly contradicted the earlier findings of the Hindmarsh Island Royal Commission.[4]
Von Doussa was made an additional judge on the
Human Rights Commission
On 1 May 2003, it was announced that von Doussa would replace
Other activities
In July 2004, von Doussa was appointed Chancellor of the
References
- ^ a b c John Emerson (2006), History of the Independent Bar of South Australia, p. 129.
- The Adelaide Advertiser. 13 June 2010.
- ^ Janke, Terri (2003). Minding culture: Case studies on intellectual property and traditional cultural expressions (PDF). Study No. 1. World Intellectual Property Organization. pp. 8–27, 135.
- The Adelaide Advertiser.
- ^ "Former judge appointed as Adelaide Uni head". ABC News. 26 July 2010.
- ^ "GRADUATION HONOUR FOR FORMER CHANCELLOR". University of Adelaide. 23 September 2011.