Sarah Catherine Derrington (née Johnstone) is an Australian jurist and academic. She has served as President of the

Australian Law Reform Commission The Australian Law Reform Commission (often abbreviated to ALRC) is an Australian independent statutory body established to conduct reviews into the law of Australia. The reviews, also called inquiries or references, are referred to the ALRC by ...

and as 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 ...

since 10 January 2018. She was previously Dean of Law at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

from 2013 to 2018.

Early life and education

Derrington was educated at St Anne's School in

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

, Mentone Girls’ Grammar in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, St Hilda's, Southport before finishing her secondary education at

St Margaret's Anglican Girls' School St Margaret's Anglican Girls School is an Australian Private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school for girls. The school is located in Ascot, Queensland, Ascot, an inner-northern suburb of Bri ...

. She then studied at the University of Queensland, from where she holds a BA in French and German, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons), a Master of Laws, and a Doctor of Philosophy in the field of marine insurance law. In 1990, she was admitted to the Bar in Queensland and as a Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the ACT.

Career

Derrington pursued dual careers in both academia and as a barrister specialising in maritime and shipping law and general commercial law, and has co-authored a number of texts on admiralty law. She was appointed as Professor of Admiralty Law at the University of Queensland in 2008. In 2013, she was appointed as the university's Dean of Law, the first woman to hold the position.

Appointment to Australian Law Reform Commission and Federal Court

In November 2017, Derrington was appointed by Attorney-General

George Brandis George Henry Brandis (born 22 June 1957) is an Australian former politician. He was a Australian Senate, Senator for Queensland from 2000 to 2018, representing the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party, and was a Cabinet (Australia), cabin ...

as President of the Australian Law Reform Commission and also as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia. As President of the Law Reform Commission, Derrington presided over reports into Class Actions and Third-party Litigation Funders (ALRC Report 134); Family Law (ALRC Report 135) and Corporate Criminal Responsibility (ALRC Report 136).

Personal life and honours

Derrington is married to Justice Roger Derrington who was appointed to the Federal Court in 2017. They have three children. In 2009, Derrington was appointed as a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Law The Australian Academy of Law (AAL) is a permanent, non-government organisation devoted to the advancement of the discipline of law. According to its Constitution, the Australian Academy of Law comprises individuals of exceptional distinction from a ...

. In 2022, she was appointed as a

Member 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 the

2022 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

for "significant service to the judiciary and to the law, and to legal education".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Derrington, Sarah 21st-century Australian judges 21st-century Australian women judges Australian legal scholars Australian women judges Fellows of the Australian Academy of Law Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Law reform in Australia Living people Members of the Order of Australia University of Queensland alumni Year of birth missing (living people)

Early life and education

Career

Appointment to Australian Law Reform Commission and Federal Court

Personal life and honours

See also

References