Adjunct Professor the Hon Anthe Philippides
Justice Philippides was the first woman of Hellenic heritage to be admitted as a barrister in Queensland in 1984 and to attain silk in Australia in 1999. Her Honour was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in December 2000 and a Judge of the Court of Appeal in December 2014. Those appointments marked the first in Australia to a superior court and an appellate court respectively of a woman lawyer of immigrant parents (her Honour’s parents having emigrated from Cyprus).
Her Honour has served as President of the Land Appeal Court of Queensland and as a Judge and inaugural President of the Queensland Mental Health Court. Her Honour served for over a decade as a member and chair of the Committee of the Supreme and District Courts Criminal Benchbook, which provides guidance on directions to juries in criminal cases. Her Honour was educated at Somerville House in Brisbane. She graduated from The University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Laws and the University Medal in Law along with several law prizes. Her Honour was UQ’s first law graduate to be awarded a British Council Commonwealth Scholarship for a Master of Law Degree at Cambridge University.
Her Honour’s practice as a barrister was in commercial law with a specialisation in admiralty and maritime law. Her Honour established the first maritime law course in Queensland. She was the first woman to be elected President of the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand. Her Honour has served on many state and federal maritime bodies, was a member of the Advisory Committee to the Australian Law Reform Commission Review of the Marine Insurance Act 2000 (Cth) and is a member of the Commonwealth Admiralty Rules Committee.
Her Honour is the Queensland Patron of the Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association (HAL), which promotes diversity in the law. Justice Philippides is also the Patron of The Legal Forecast – Creative and the Law Orchestra Queensland, which promotes mental wellbeing and social inclusion for young lawyers through music. In 2017, her Honour established the Music and the Arts Circle, to provide free access to the arts and social support to First Nations students and young professionals. Her Honour is a Titular Member of the Comité Maritime International, an Honorary Life Member of the Australian National Maritime Museum, a Member of the Société de Legislation Comparée and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. She is a director of Musica Viva Australia. Recently, Justice Philippides established the Queensland Cambridge Australia Scholarship for postgraduate study of law. Her Honour retired as a Judge of the Court of Appeal of Queensland on 23 April 2021.