James Jacob Spigelman (born 1 January 1946) is a former Australian judge who served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1998 to 2011, and also as Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales from 1998 to 2012. He served on the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong as a non-permanent judge from other common law jurisdictions from April 2013 to his early resignation in September 2020. Spigelman also served as chairman of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

from 2012 to 2017.

Early years and education

Spigelman was born in Sosnowiec,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, on 1 January 1946. He arrived in Australia with his family in 1949 and attended Maroubra Public School and later Sydney Boys High School. He then went on to study

Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, where he attained First-Class Honours in Government and Second-Class Honours (Division 1) in Economics. Subsequently, he studied law, graduating in 1971 with First-Class Honours and the University Medal. Spigelman participated in and helped organise the 1965 Freedom Ride, a project undertaken by students to draw attention to problems faced by Indigenous communities in NSW. In 1969 he was President of the Students' Representative Council. From 1969-1971, he was the Student Fellow of the University Senate.

Career

Early legal career

Spigelman was admitted to practise as a solicitor in 1972. From 1972 to 1975, he served as Senior Advisor and Principal Private Secretary to the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Gough Whitlam. In 1975, he was appointed the Secretary of the Department of the Media. In 1976 Spigelman was admitted to the NSW Bar. He did not commence practice until three years later, when he first served for several years as a member of the Australian Law Reform Commission and also spent time overseas. Spigelman's primary areas of practice at the bar included constitutional law, administrative law, and appellate work. In 1986, Spigelman 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 ...

; and, in 1997, he served as Solicitor-General of New South Wales.

Judicial career

The

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the New South Wales Labor Party, New South Wales branch of the A ...

appointed Spigelman Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...

, and Lieutenant-Governor of NSW, effective 25 May 1998. Spigelman was regarded as the favourite to succeed Murray Gleeson as Chief Justice of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

when he stepped down in late 2008. However, this appointment went instead to Robert French. On 18 March 2011, Spigelman announced his decision to resign as Chief Justice, effective 31 May 2011. Reviewing Spigelman's 13-year term of office, ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' columnist, David Marr commented that "... the Chief Justice of NSW .... blazed an incomparable trail.... every stage of Jim Spigelman's remarkable career has been like that: briefly surprising and then absolutely convincing". Marr claims that Spigelman's achievements include the renewal of the ranks of the Supreme Court, running a polite and friendly Court, and modernising the Court's business practices and rules. According to Bret Walker SC, Spigelman was renowned for "... showing his decided preference for efficient, better-value-for-money justice." He retired on 31 May 2011 and was succeeded by Tom Bathurst QC. Spigelman has also been a justice of the Supreme Court of Fiji. He was also appointed to the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong as non-permanent judge from other common law jurisdictions in April 2013 and reappointed to a term that was not due to expire until 2022; however, after the Hong Kong chief executive denied the practice of the separation of powers in Hong Kong in September 2020, he became the first foreign judge to resign from the court, citing concerns over the national security legislation recently imposed by the Chinese government on the territory.Australian James Spigelman resigns as judge of Hong Kong appeals court over new national security law

, 18 September 2020

Chairman of the ABC

On 8 March 2012, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced Spigelman would become chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), starting a 5-year term on 1 April 2012. His term finished in March 2017 and he was replaced by Justin Milne in April 2017.

Personal life

Spigelman is Jewish and is a child of

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...

, Gustawa and Majloch, who feature in the graphic novel '' Maus'', written by Spigelman's cousin

Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...

. Spigelman’s parents were 2 of 15 survivors among 72 Spigelman relatives. Spigelman's surname was originally spelt Szpiegelman until his parents altered it to Spigelman when moving to Australia after the Holocaust ended. Spigelman and his two brothers, Mark Spigelman and Allan Spigelman, have been recognised for their respective achievements and contributions to Australia following the family’s Holocaust survival. Spigelman is married to author and clinical psychologist Alice Spigelman AM. Her directorships have included The Benevolent Society,

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

, Bundanon Trust, NIDA, Australian Institute of Music and the Rural Leadership Program. She is currently the Chair of

Sculpture by the Sea The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Sydney and Perth is Australia's largest annual outdoor sculpture Art exhibition, exhibition. This exhibition was initiated in 1997, at Bondi Beach and it featured sculptures by both Australian and overseas ...

having been a board member since 2010.

Community leadership

Spigelman has a strong interest in the arts. His community involvement includes: *Chairman of the Film Finance Corporation Australia Ltd (1990–1992) *Chair of the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

Council (2010–present) *Deputy Chairman of the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

(1983–1988) *President of the

Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences The Powerhouse Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of 4 museums in Sydney, owned by the Government of New South Wales. Powerhouse is a contemporary museum of applied arts and sciences, explorin ...

(1995–1998) *Member of the Council of the National Gallery of Australia (1995–1998) *Member of the Board of the

Brett Whiteley Brett Whiteley Order of Australia, AO (7 April 1939 – 15 June 1992) was an Australian artist. He is represented in the collections of all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner of the Archibald Prize, Archibald, Wynne Prize, ...

Foundation (1995–1998) *Councillor of the

Australian Film Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. Opened to students in 1973 as Film and Television School (FTS), after accredita ...

(1975–1978)

Honours

*Justice Spigelman became a Companion (AC) of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2000, for services to law and to the community through leadership in bringing about change in attitudes to the administration of justice for a more fair and equitable society, and to the support of the visual arts. *In 2001, Justice Spigelman was one of over 15,000 Australians to be awarded a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

. *He has received honorary doctorates from two universities in Sydney: University of Sydney, Doctor of Laws (honoris causa), 2004; and Macquarie University,

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(honoris causa), 2012. *

References

External links

The Hon James Spigelman AC QC, ABC Chairman Official website

The Honourable James Jacob Spigelman, AC, Supreme Court of New South Wales website

The Honourable James Jacob Spigelman, AC, Speeches, Supreme Court of New South Wales website

The Hon Justice James Jacob Spigelman AC, Honorary Awards, University of Sydney

The Honourable James Jacob Spigelman AC, Author profile, UPQ

Books by James Jacob Spigelman at Worldcat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spigelman, Jim 1946 births Living people 20th-century King's Counsel Australian Jews Australian King's Counsel Australian judges on the courts of Fiji Australian judges on the courts of Hong Kong Australian public servants Chairpersons of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Chief justices of New South Wales Companions of the Order of Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong) Lawyers from Sydney Lieutenant-governors of New South Wales National Library of Australia Council members People educated at Sydney Boys High School People from Sosnowiec Polish emigrants to Australia Quadrant (magazine) people Supreme Court of Fiji justices Sydney Law School alumni