Michael Kirby

The Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG was Australia’s longest serving judge when he retired from the High Court of Australia on 2 February 2009. His honour was also the first openly gay Justice of the High Court. His honour’s concern with human rights can be seen in the number of national and international bodies his honour served on both during and after his judicial career. Just two of many notable examples are his serving as a member of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee (1995-2006), a body comprised of a number of independent experts whom follow progress in the life sciences and its applications in order to ensure respect for human dignity and freedom; And as Chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Violations in North Korea whose mandate was to investigate “systemic, widespread and grave violations of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. His honour has also acted as a strong advocate of SOGI, including through his work with the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute of which he is Co-Chair (2018-).