ICJ Victoria is active in the community in educating, promoting debate and promoting the observance of its core principles of human rights, fairness and judicial independence through the Rule of Law.
The current Executive Committee of ICJ Victoria is:
President
The Hon Justice Mordecai Bromberg (Federal Court of Australia)
Vice Presidents
The Hon Justice Lesley Taylor (Supreme Court of Victoria)
Her Honour Judge Julie Condon (County Court of Victoria)
Chair
Guy Gilbert SC
Vice Chair
Campbell Thomson
Secretary
Isabelle Skaburskis
Treasurer
Amelia Edwards
Executive Member
Felicity Gerry Q.C
Executive Member
Alexander Laurence
Executive Member
Simon Thomas
ICJ Victoria runs a number of ongoing projects, where our members make a meaningful contribution to the improvement of human rights in the region.
These projects include:
ICJ Victoria is an active advocate, and contributes by making frequent submissions to government, consulted with government and made multiple media releases on human rights issues, including:
- Sent a delegate to the DFAT NGO Forum on Human Rights and the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva;
- Submitted a paper to the DFAT 13th Australia Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue;
- Released statements to the media regarding mandatory sentencing, breaches of international law, and attacks on the President of the Human Rights Commission, Professor Gillian Triggs;
- Endorsed statements made about offshore detention by peak legal bodies, by the Judicial Conference of Australia’s concern regarding Judicial Detention in Turkey, and by the Australian Bar Association, calling for the Northern Territory Government to reconsider amendments to bail application legislation;
- Endorsed campaigns to ‘Release the Palace Letters,’ refer Sri Lanka to the UN General Assembly for War Crimes, and community-led efforts to train and educate previous offenders;
- Spoke at the launch of Annette Culley’s book: State Responsibility in International Law;
- Wrote a submission to the Sentencing Advisory Council on ‘Swift, Certain, Fair’ sentencing approaches to family violence offenders;
We have also endorsed a large number of submissions from other advocacy groups.
Each year, ICJ Victoria hosts the Community Opening of the Legal Year. This year the event featured Judge Amanda Chambers, President of the Children’s Court, and Uncle Jack Charles, Victorian Senior Australian of the Year 2017. Uncle Archie Roch also spoke about the Archie Roach Foundation and performed live. At this event, ICJ Victoria annually awards the John Gibson award, to an outstanding Victorian advocate, who has promoted human rights through positive and effective advocacy. This year the award went to the Honourable Ron Merkel QC.
ICJ Victoria hosts the ICJ Victoria Annual Fundraising Dinner. In 2016, the event featured the Honourable Professor Patrick Dodson, Federal Senator for Western Australia.
ICJ Victoria hosts events, providing a platform for local and international advocates to speak on Human Rights and the Rule of Law.
