By Katherine Giles, solicitor at Michell Sillar and volunteers with Arts Law.
Published in ART+law, June 2004
To many, Justice Michael Kirby is known as the ‘rock-star’ of High Court justice. He has a legion of fans who rejoice in his courage to question the majority, his vision and creative spirit. In 1997 the Bulletin magazine even listed Justice Kirby as amongst Australia's "ten most creative minds". Katherine Giles* looks at the life of one of Arts Law’s new patrons.
Working life as a lawyer began for Justice Michael Kirby as a solicitor in New South Wales, before being admitted to the Bar in 1967. In 1983 he became the youngest man to be appointed as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia. Shortly after, he became President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal from where he served until 1996. Finally, in February 1996, Justice Kirby was appointed as one of seven judges of the High Court of Australia.
Justice Kirby’s more humanitarian roles have including President of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands, UN Special Representative in Cambodia and President of the International Commission of Jurists. He has also been an active participant in UNESCO at its General Conference, International Labour Organisation, International Court of Justice, UN Human Rights Centre and a Member of the Global Commission on AIDS of the World Health Organisation.
This list of achievements (amongst others) was honoured when Justice Kirby was created a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1983 and a Companion of the Order of Australia, the highest civil honour now awarded in Australia, in 1991. In 1991 he was also awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal and in 1999 the Laureate of the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education.
Justice Kirby’s association with Arts Law began when he was witness to the birth of the Arts Law in 1983 as the first President of the Arts Law Centre of Australia. He played an important role in assisting lawyer Shane Simpson with creating the Arts Law Centre which was modelled on one that had been established in the United Kingdom in 1978.
Like many involved in the provision of justice in Australia, Justice Kirby is one who believes that volunteer or pro bono work is an integral part of being a lawyer and an officer of the Court. As Justice Kirby says:
“I do believe in volunteer work. As a young solicitor I carried a heavy load representing clients for the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties. It is interesting to look back on that Council from this vantage point. Virtually all of us ended up in the Establishment. It would have shocked us to our bootstraps during the Vietnam moratorium protests to have known that this would come about! Volunteering can be a fun part of legal practice. It is the part where intellect and spirit are engaged in harmony.”
“On the other hand, there is a limit to the extent to which it is fair to ask professional people to do things for nothing. Artists know that. There is an unconscionable demand on artists to give of themselves free of charge. The belief is about that it costs them nothing. Yet their art is what they have to offer to the economic market. I suppose that plumbers, radiographers and ferry captains offer their services free of charge from time to time. But the sad thing which artists and lawyers share in common is that few people feel much sympathy when asking them to do things pro bono. Some even feel it is their right to make demands. The burden tends to fall on the few. But be warned. Those who give, receive. Many will end up in the Establishment, assuming that to be a benefit.”
In 2004, Justice Kirby was present to launch celebrations for the Arts Law’s 20th birthday party and the beginning of Arts Law’s Council of Patrons. He says that he happily accepted the role of patron and believes that the Arts Law Centre has gathered an interesting collection of Australians to fulfil the task of patrons. As he mused:
“Patronage is what you make of it. I have already undertaken to come out of hibernation every ten years, at least, to celebrate each new decade in the Arts Law Centre's life. Especially if it goes with a champagne cocktail.”
When asked about his long association with the Arts Law Centre and how he envisions any future evolution, Justice Kirby believes that Arts Law will continue to evolve because it operates in a dynamic field of law in which the legal issues that are important for artists will change with each decade. “Some changes are long in coming, such as the introduction of legislative protection for the moral rights of artists. Other changes come quite quickly with new technology, such as the laws governing the digital agenda. Still other changes respond to the needs of particular generations”, Justice Kirby says. For example, as he points out when Arts Law was first established in 1983, AIDS had only just appeared on the scene. Justice Kirby reflects:
“It took its toll on people in the arts, as in all other fields of life. It became important to provide legal advice on wills and estate planning for young people who would ordinarily not have thought about such things. As in the past, so in the future. We did not predict HIV/AIDS in the early 1980s. Who knows what new problems lie just around the corner? Whatever they will be, the Arts Law Centre of Australia will be ready to respond with expert advice and empathetic care.”
And when asked if Justice Kirby has any advice for young Australian creators and creative legal eagles, he suggested:
“I still look on myself as a young creative legal eagle. All right, there may be a few feathers missing. Some may call me an old buzzard. But there is loads of creativity just waiting to show. The world of the arts is the world of the human spirit. New ideas. Bold themes. Catchy sound combinations. Vivid colours and patterns. The deep emotion of a choir at full throttle. The challenge of images in film or electronic form. The intellectual challenge of computer generated images or music. The solid inspiration of form in bronze. The tactile joy of new pleasures. This is what it is to be human in every dimension of that word.
It is a privilege for lawyers to be associated with artists - people of the spirit. Lawyers also live, partly, in that world. Justice, liberty, human rights, freedom, rule of law: all of these afford the context in which creative imagination can flourish. It never truly does so in lawless regimes or tyrannies. Art + Law are natural allies. The Arts Law Centre brings us together. For that we must be grateful.”
