Michael McHugh
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| Michael McHugh | |
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| In office 14 February 1989 – 1 November 2005 |
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| Appointed by | Bob Hawke |
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| Preceded by | Ronald Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Susan Crennan |
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| Born | November 1, 1935  New South Wales |
| Nationality | Australian |
Michael Hudson McHugh, AC QC, (born 1 November 1935) is a former justice of the High Court of Australia; the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy.
[edit] Judicial Activity
Michael McHugh was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1961 after taking the Barrister's Admission Board Examinations. He was appointed as a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1973 and was Vice President of the New South Wales Bar Association 1978 - 1981 and then President 1981 - 1983. He was President of the Australian Bar Association 1983 - 1984.
He was appointed as a Justice of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1984.
He was appointed as a judge of the High Court in February 1989, a position he held until his retirement in November 2005 in accordance with Section 72 of the Australian Constitution, which states that Justices of the High Court must retire from office upon turning 70. After his retirement from the High Court, Justice McHugh was appointed as one of the Non-permanent Justices of the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong. Another Australian judge on the Court of Final Appeal is Sir Anthony Mason.
On September 20, 2005 it was announced that Justice Susan Crennan, then of the Federal Court of Australia, would take his vacated position on the High Court.
Justice McHugh is regarded as a leading authority on the continued development of the tort of negligence, especially in relation to economic loss claims. His judgment in Perre v Apand provides the possible basis for a new test to establish a duty of care in such "novel" cases with regards to economic loss, the cutting edge of Torts law. This test is still somewhat problematic, and may yet be disposed of, as McHugh's suggested test requires a very slow and incremental approach to law, as trial judges will often be hesitant to make definitive law by the process suggested by McHugh (which requires value judgments); however, it provides possibly the most "just" and reasonable test, even if it is not necessarily the easiest to follow by trial judges or legal practitioners.
He is married to a former Australian federal MP and Minister, Jeannette McHugh.
[edit] Honours
- He received Australia's highest civil honour when he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1989.
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| Justices of the High Court of Australia |  |
|---|---|
| Chief Justices of Australia | |
| Griffith · Knox · Isaacs · Gavan Duffy · Latham · Dixon · Barwick · Gibbs · Mason · Brennan · Gleeson | |
| Puisne Justices | |
| Barton · O'Connor · Higgins · Powers · Piddington · Rich · Starke · Evatt · McTiernan · Williams · Webb · Fullagar · Kitto · Taylor · Menzies · Windeyer · Owen · Walsh · Stephen · Jacobs · Murphy · Aickin · Wilson · Deane · Dawson · Toohey · Gaudron · McHugh · Gummow · Kirby · Hayne · Callinan · Heydon · Crennan · Kiefel | |
| current Justices are in italics | |
