Roger Vincent Gyles (22 August 1938 – 2 March 2025) was an Australian judge who was the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. In that role he was tasked to monitor and examine the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

's new counter-terrorism legislation. He had previously been an Acting Judge of the Court of Appeal 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 ...

, a judge of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

and a

Royal Commissioner A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equiv ...

Background

Gyles was educated at

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

(1950–1954) and graduated from 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 ...

with First Class Honours in Law in 1961. Gyles died in Sydney on 2 March 2025, at the age of 86.

Legal career

After practising as a solicitor, Gyles was admitted to the

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 ...

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1964 and took

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

in 1975. He acted as Master in Equity in 1975 and as a Judge of the

in 1989. Between 1982 and 1984, he acted as Special Commonwealth Prosecutor into

Bottom of the harbour tax avoidance Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or dominant * Bottom (sex), a term used by gay couples and BDSM * Buttocks or bottom, part of th ...

, and between 1990 and 1992 he was

into the Building Industry in New South Wales. He had been President of both the New South Wales and Australian Bar Associations. Gyles was a Judge of the

from 1999 to 2008 and then an Acting Judge of the Court of Appeal of the

. He had served as an additional judge of the

Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. The court ha ...

, a Deputy President of the Australian Competition Tribunal, a Presidential Member of the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was an Australian tribunal that conducted independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT reviewed decisions made by Australian G ...

and an Arbitrator of the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

. In December 2014 Gyles was named the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor.

Honours

* Officer,

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 ...

(2000) − For service to the legal profession and the judiciary, particularly as a Royal Commissioner and Special Prosecutor, and to the community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyles, Roger 1938 births 2025 deaths Officers of the Order of Australia Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales 20th-century Australian judges 21st-century Australian judges Australian King's Counsel People educated at Newington College