Chris Kourakis
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Christopher John Kourakis (born 17 June 1958) is a
Greek Australian Greek Australians () are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 Australian census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek ancestry (whether alone o ...
lawyer and judge. Since 2012 he has been Chief Justice of South Australia.


Early life and education

Kourakis was born on 17 June 1958 grew up in
Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...
as one of ten children of Greek migrants Evangelos and Roxani Kourakis. His parents originated from the Greek island of
Ikaria Ikaria, also spelled Icaria (; ), is a Greece, Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. Administratively, Ikaria forms a separate municipality within the Ikaria (regional unit), Ikaria regional unit, ...
. He was educated at the
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...
.


Career

Kourakis practised at the Independent Bar in South Australia from 1989 and was appointed
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 ...
in 1997. He was President of the Law Society of
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
from 2001. In 2003 he was appointed as the
Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
of South Australia. When the South Australian government decided to cease appointing Queen's Counsel and the Chief Justice of South Australia began appointing Senior Counsel, Kourakis resigned his commission as Queen's Counsel to become Senior Counsel instead. In 2008, Kourakis was appointed to the
Supreme Court of South Australia The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court of the Australian state of South Australia. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court hierarchy. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in ...
and in 2012, he was elevated to the position of Chief Justice. In August 2022, he overturned a decision by the former
Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier i ...
,
Steven Marshall Steven Spence Marshall (born 21 January 1968) is a former Australian politician who served as the 46th premier of South Australia between 2018 and 2022. He was a member of the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the ...
, to allow for exploratory mining to go ahead on
Lake Torrens Lake Torrens ( Kuyani: ''Ngarndamukia'') is a large ephemeral, normally endorheic salt lake in central South Australia. After sufficiently extreme rainfall events, the lake flows out through the Pirie-Torrens corridor to the Spencer Gulf. ...
, citing concerns that Kelaray's heritage plan and procedures would "substantially detract" from the '' Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988''. In May 2023, the Premier's decision was reinstated by the Court of Appeal of South Australia. In February 2023, together with
Attorney-General of South Australia The attorney-general of South Australia is the Cabinet minister in the Government of South Australia who is responsible for that state's system of law and justice. The attorney-general must be a qualified legal practitioner, although this wa ...
Kyam Maher Kyam Joseph Maher is an Australian politician and lawyer who has been Attorney-General of South Australia and the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council since March 2022. He was appointed to a casual vacancy in the South Australia ...
, Kourakis announced several new appointments to the SA judicial system. Among the appointees were the first two
Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...
to be appointed to the
Magistrates Court of South Australia The Magistrates Court of South Australia is the lowest level court in the state of South Australia. The Magistrates Court, then known as the Court of Petty Sessions, was established in 1837, by the ''Court of Sessions Act 1837''. It has both O ...
, Lana Chester and Natalie Brown.


References

1958 births Australian people of Greek descent Living people Adelaide Law School alumni Australian King's Counsel Australian Senior Counsel Solicitors-general of South Australia Chief justices of South Australia People from Port Lincoln Judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia 20th-century Australian judges {{Australia-law-bio-stub