| Sir Edward McTiernan | |
|---|---|
| McTiernan in his chambers, 1954. | |
| Puisne Justice of the High Court of Australia | |
| In office 20 December 1930 – 12 September 1976 |
|
| Nominated by | James Scullin |
| Appointed by | John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven |
| Preceded by | Sir Isaac Isaacs |
| Succeeded by | Sir Keith Aickin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 February 1892 Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 9 January 1990 (aged 97) |
Sir Edward Aloysius McTiernan, KBE (16 February 1892 – 9 January 1990), was an Australian jurist, lawyer and politician. He served as an Australian Labor Party member of both the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and federal House of Representatives before being appointed to the High Court of Australia in 1930. He sat on many significant cases on the bench, eventually becoming the longest-serving judge in the court's history, before finally retiring in 1976.
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McTiernan was born into an Irish Catholic family in Glen Innes. Educated at Marist Brothers' College, Darlinghurst, he studied arts and law at the University of Sydney. He graduated in 1915 and was called to the bar the following year.
After five years as a barrister, McTiernan was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1920 as the Member for Western Suburbs. McTiernan served in the ministry as Minister for Justice from April to December 1920 and Attorney-General of New South Wales from April 1920 to May 1927,[1] and was heavily involved in Premier Jack Lang's attempt to abolish the New South Wales Legislative Council. He retired from the Assembly in 1927 and took up a position as a law lecturer with his alma mater. Two years later, however, he was elected to federal parliament as the member for Parkes. This was to be short-lived, as in 1930, one year into McTiernan's term, Prime Minister James Scullin controversially nominated him to the High Court of Australia.
As a judge of the High Court, McTiernan oversaw several of the most significant cases in Australian legal history, including Bank of New South Wales v Commonwealth, which struck down an attempt to nationalise the banks, Australian Communist Party v The Commonwealth, which struck down an attempt to ban the Communist Party of Australia and R v Kirby; ex parte Boilermakers' Society of Australia, which reinforced the doctrine of the separation of powers. He served under five Chief Justices - Sir Isaac Isaacs, Sir Frank Gavan Duffy, Sir John Latham, Sir Owen Dixon and Sir Garfield Barwick, and was knighted himself in 1951.[2]
McTiernan was one of only eight justices of the High Court to have served in the Parliament of Australia prior to his appointment to the Court; the others were Edmund Barton, Richard O'Connor, Isaac Isaacs, H. B. Higgins, John Latham, Garfield Barwick, and Lionel Murphy. He was also one of six justices to have served in the Parliament of New South Wales, along with Barton, O'Connor, Albert Piddington, Adrian Knox and H. V. Evatt.
In total, McTiernan was a member of the High Court for 46 years, making him the longest-serving judge in its history. This is a record not now likely to be broken, as constitutional changes in 1977, perhaps sparked by McTiernan's extremely long term, introduced compulsory retirement ages for judges.[3] McTiernan had no intention of resigning from the bench even into the 1970s, but after breaking his hip at the age of 84 in 1976, Chief Justice Barwick's refusal to install a wheelchair ramp to allow him to return to the bench prompted his retirement.[4] He died in 1990, at the age of 97.
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Marr |
Member for Parkes 1929–1930 |
Succeeded by Charles Marr |
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