Sir Gerard Brennan : constrained compassion / The Hon Patrick Keane AC KC.

Brisbane : Supreme Court Library Queensland 2024.

202039

Brennan, Francis Gerard, -- Sir, -- 1928-.

Sir Gerard Brennan has been one of Australia’s most important barristers and judges since World War II. As a judge, he made many significant contributions to Australian jurisprudence. The most consequential of these was the leading judgment in the High Court’s decision in Mabo recognising the rights of occupation of Australia’s indigenous peoples. -- A few short years later in the Wik case, Brennan CJ dissented from the Court’s decision that native title had not been extinguished by grants of pastoral leases under Colonial and State legislation. -- The key to understanding the fundamental consistency of these two judgments lies in an appreciation of Brennan’s fidelity to the constraints upon judicial decision making required by the constitutional separation of legislative and judicial power.

Open access

The Hon Patrick Keane AC KC, 'Sir Gerard Brennan: constrained compassion', 2024 Selden Society Lecture 4 given at the Banco Court, Brisbane, 14 Nov 2024

1 online video YouTube video

1 online speaker's notes (36 pages) PDF