Australia appoints family court judge close to retirement

Source: http://ift.tt/YRXBdW --- Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Australian Attorney-General George Brandis has raised eyebrows in legal circles by appointing a new Chief Justice for the Family Courts who is just 14 months away from mandatory retirement age. Former family law judge John Pascoe, 68, is Chief Judge of the national Federal Circuit Court. He will take up the mantle of Chief Justice this week, but will only serve until December next year when he turns 70, the mandatory retirement age for Judges in Australia . The appointment follows the Australian government’s recently announced plan to undertake a major review of the country’s family law system. Judge Pascoe is expected to play a central role in this, The Age reports, and his retirement deadline suggests a timescale for the project. The veteran developed a non-adversarial tribunal system for victims of domestic violence reluctant to appear in family courts. He has also publicly complained about delays and long queues in the Australian court system. Mr Brandis praised Judge Pascoe’s “ wealth of experience ”. The Attorney-General is the principal legal representative of the Queen in Australia. Photo of Melbourne, home to the Family Court of Australia, by Alan Lam via TravelMag . ...

from Australia http://ift.tt/2g1JSMR