Michael David Coper (27 April 1946 – 13 April 2019) was an Australian legal academic, one of Australia's leading constitutional lawyers, author, and one of the founders of the law school at the University of New South Wales.
Early years
Coper attended
Cranbrook from 1950 to 1963.
Career
Coper studied law 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 ...
. He was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Virginia in 1978.
Coper was one of the founders of the law school at the
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949.
The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
in 1971 and taught law at the University until 1987.
Coper was associated with the Australian trucking industry in the 1980s as the legal member of the NSW Road Freight Transport Industry Council.
In 1988 he was appointed to the Inter-State Commission,
producing several reports on the Australian waterfront and interstate land transport.
Coper was appointed as Chair of the TruckSafe Industry Accreditation Council in 1996.
Coper came to prominence with his prize-winning 1983 book ''Freedom of Interstate Trade under the Australian Constitution'', which was influential in the High Court's change of direction five years later in the landmark case of
Cole v Whitfield
''Cole v Whitfield'',. is a decision of the High Court of Australia. At issue was the interpretation of section 92 of the Australian Constitution, a provision which relevantly states:... trade, commerce, and intercourse among the States, whethe ...
, in which Professor Coper also appeared as counsel. His 1987 book ''Encounters with the Australian Constitution'' was received to great acclaim, as was the project he conceived and co-edited to fruition in 2001, the comprehensive ''Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia''.
In 1995 Coper was Professor of
Constitutional Law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
at the Australian National University. Coper was the Dean of the College of Law at the Australian National University from 1998 to 2012.
Chair of the Council of Australian Law Deans (2005–2007),
Vice President of the
International Association of Law Schools The International Association of Law Schools (IALS) is an independent association of law schools that was established after a series of meetings of legal educators from around the world beginning in 2000. Incorporated under the laws of the District ...
(2011–2014), a member of the American Law Institute and a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.
Works
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* which was influential in the Australian High Court case of ''Cole v Whitfield''
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Awards and honours
* 2017 – Coper was appointed as Professor Emeritus of the Australian National University
* 2018 – Officer in the Order of Australia for distinguished service to legal education, and to the law, as an academic, author and administrator, through advisory roles, and to safety standards in the transport industry.
* 2018 – A book of essays was published in his honour ''Encounters with constitutional interpretation and legal education : essays in honour of Michael Coper''
* 2019 – Doctor of Laws honoris causa from University of New South Wales
Personal life
Coper is the father of Australian political campaigner
Ed Coper.
References
External links
Michael Coper interviewed by Garry Sturgess
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coper, Michael
1946 births
2019 deaths
20th-century Australian lawyers
Officers of the Order of Australia
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Law
Academic staff of the Australian National University
Academic staff of the University of New South Wales
University of Sydney alumni
People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney