Active NSW judge stays on the bench beyond 72
The ongoing issue of compulsory retirement for judges at 72 in New South Wales was raised again at the retirement ceremony of NSW Court of Appeal judge Ken Handley.
Judge Handley had made it known he was still keen to continue and brought forward words of support from the NSW Chief Justice Jim Spigelman who said at the ceremony that “I know you would not be retiring but for statutory compulsion. The remorselessness of the demographic challenges facing Australia is such that compulsory retiring ages need to be reviewed”.
Chief Justice Spigelman said that “some such age is, of course, appropriate for judges in view of the inability to remove a judge whose decline in powers does not quite reach the required depths. However, as your own energy and mental acuity attests, an increase in the age to 75 for judges and 78 for acting judges is now appropriate”.
Ken Handley has now been reappointed to the NSW Supreme Court as an acting judge. He will also continue serving as a judge on the Court of Appeal of Fiji, along with two other retired NSW judges.
