Brian Frank Martin (2 November 1936 – 24 April 2023) was the fourth Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of the Northern Territory The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory is the superior court for the Australian Territory of the Northern Territory. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. It is a ...

. He was appointed to that position on 26 February 1993 when the former Chief Justice Austin Asche took up appointment as Administrator of the Northern Territory. Chief Justice Martin was appointed a

Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the Court in 1987 and, following his retirement, still assisted the Court as an Acting Judge having been appointed to that position in 2004. He was unusually succeeded as Chief Justice by a person bearing the same first name and surname, Justice

Brian Ross Martin Brian Ross Martin (born 2 September 1947) is an Australian jurist. He was a judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia before being appointed Chief Justice of the Northern Territory, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Terri ...

. The two men are distinguished by their middle names. The judgments of the latter appear as Martin (BR) CJ to eliminate confusion.

Education and pre-Northern Territory

Chief Justice Martin was born in Lithgow,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in 1936 and attended the Lithgow High School. He commenced studying law in 1953 and was admitted to practice in 1959. He practised as a solicitor in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

from 1959 - 1963.

Legal career

In pursuit of establishing a country law practice, he moved to

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

in 1963 and, along with Ian Barker, was one of only two solicitors in the town at that time. Together they established the firm of Martin and Barker. He was to stay at Alice Springs until 1981. While there he was appointed to the Alice Springs Town Management Board and served there from 1968 - 1971. He also served terms as Alderman, Deputy Mayor and

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

between 1972 and 1975. He was an inaugural member of the Northern Territory Law Society when it was formed in 1968 and was the Alice Springs representative from 1970 to 1977 and its Vice-President from 1972 - 1973. In 1978 Chief Justice Martin chaired a committee established by the new Northern Territory Government to inquire into the welfare needs of the Northern Territory. In 1980 he was appointed to chair a Committee of Inquiry into pastoral land tenure in the Northern Territory. He was also appointed that year to the Board of Directors of the Australian Bicentennial Authority and was Chairman of the Northern Territory Council of the Authority until 1989. Chief Justice Martin was appointed Northern Territory Solicitor-General and Secretary of the Department of Law in 1981 and relocated to Darwin. In 1982 he was appointed a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

and was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. He resigned as Secretary of the Department of Law on 3 May 1986 but stayed on as Solicitor-General until he was appointed a Judge of the

on 30 September 1987. He was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 1989. As Chief Justice he was a strong defender of the independence of the judiciary and was an even stronger supporter of the Independent Bar. He was the first Northern Territory Chief Justice to use technology such as the internet to display sentencing remarks. He also oversaw the introduction of videoconferencing and implemented the first regular sittings of the Court at

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

. During his time as Chief Justice he was Chairman of the Northern Territory Parole Board and held a commission as Acting Administrator of the Territory. He retired on 31 October 2003, passing away on 24 April 2023.

References

External links

Biographical information at the Supreme Court website Ceremonial sitting at Darwin to farewell Chief Justice Brian Martin AO MBE 31 October 2003

Ceremonial sitting at Alice Springs to farewell Chief Justice Brian Martin AO MBE
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Brian Frank 1936 births 2023 deaths People from Darwin, Northern Territory Chief justices of the Northern Territory Judges of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory Australian King's Counsel Solicitors-general of the Northern Territory 20th-century Australian judges People from Lithgow, New South Wales