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Tony North Justice of the Federal Court of Australia |
Justice North was educated at Melbourne University (BA, LL.B (Hons)) and the University of London (LL.M). His Honour joined the Victorian Bar in 1976 and was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1989.
In 1995 His Honour was appointed a Justice of the Federal Court of Australia.
In 2001 His Honour was the trial judge in the Tampa case, the most publicised recent Australian refugee case (Victorian Council for Civil Liberties Incorporated v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2001] FCA 1297) about 400 Iraqi and Sri Lankan asylum seekers who had been rescued at sea by the MV Tampa were refused entry into Australia by the Australian Government. His Honour ordered that the Government allow the asylum seekers to land in Australia.
His Honour has a special interest in refugee law and served as President of the International Association of Refugee Law Judges between 2005 and 2010.
His Honour has spoken and written widely on refugee law matters. His Honour has advocated the establishment of an international judicial commission for the authoritative determination of refugee law issues under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. His Honour was a signatory to the Michigan Guidelines on Protection Elsewhere adopted on January 3, 2007.