Editing Michael Kirby (judge) (section)

==Judicial appointment==
Kirby became the youngest man appointed to federal judicial office in 1975, when he was appointed Deputy President of the [[Australian Industrial Relations Commission|Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission]], a tribunal which adjudicated labour disputes.<ref name="HCA"/> In 1983, Kirby was appointed a judge in the [[Federal Court of Australia]], before an appointment as President of the [[New South Wales Court of Appeal]], a superior court in that state's legal system, in 1984. During that period, he was also the President of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands from 1995 to 1996.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Boyd|first=Susan|title=Australian Judges at Work Internationally|journal=[[Australian Law Journal]]|year=2003|volume=77|pages=303 at 305}}</ref>

From 1984 until 1993, Kirby held the position of Chancellor at [[Macquarie University]].<ref>{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060918083703/http://www.hcourt.gov.au/speeches/kirbyj/kirbyjbio.html|date=18 September 2006}}. Retrieved 22 January 2010.</ref>

In February 1996, Kirby was appointed to the [[High Court of Australia]].<ref name=":0" /> He has served on many other boards and committees, notably the [[Australian Law Reform Commission]] (ALRC) and the [[CSIRO]]. He is Patron of the Friends of Libraries Australia (FOLA) and many other bodies.

===Dissent rate===
Kirby was often at odds with his colleagues in the [[Murray Gleeson|Gleeson]] [[High Court of Australia|High Court]], and sometimes as the sole dissenter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/kirby-swims-against-tide-as-other-judges-go-with-flow/2007/02/15/1171405374612.html|title=Kirby swims against tide as other judges go with flow|first=Tim|last=Dick|date=16 February 2007|work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/kirbys-last-dissent-my-fellow-judges-racially-biased-20090202-7vr7.html|title=Kirby's last dissent: my fellow judges racially biased|first1=Leo|last1=Shanahan|first2=Andra|last2=Jackson|date=3 February 2009|work=The Age}}</ref> In 2004, he delivered a [[dissenting opinion]] on nearly 40% of the matters in which he participated, almost twice as many as any of his High Court colleagues; in constitutional cases, his rate of dissent was more than 50%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/its-unanimous-kirby-still-the-great-dissenter/story-e6frg6z6-1111113002018|title=It's unanimous: Kirby still the great dissenter|first=Chris|last=Merritt|date=16 February 2007|work=The Australian}}</ref> His notable dissent rate earned him the nickname the "Great Dissenter".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/kirby-set-to-retire/story-e6frf7jo-1111118723839|title=Kirby set to retire|work=Herald Sun|date=1 February 2009}}</ref> Future High Court Justices who have been considered in contention for the title include [[Dyson Heydon]] and [[Patrick Keane (justice)|Patrick Keane]], though neither had dissent rates as high as Kirby's.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-05/byrne-high-court-judges/4553626|title=Justice Keane completes the new-look High Court|first=Elizabeth|last=Byrne|date=5 March 2013|work=The Drum|publisher=ABC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timebase.com.au/news/2011/AT388-article.html|title=Justice Heydon triples his dissent rate for 2011|work=Legal Research|publisher=TimeBase|date=12 August 2011}}</ref>

Legal researchers Andrew Lynch and George Williams observe that "even allowing for 2004 as a year in which Kirby had a particularly high level of explicit disagreement with a majority of his colleagues, it is neither premature nor unfair to say that in the frequency of his dissent, his Honour has long since eclipsed any other Justice in the history of the Court... <nowiki>[Kirby]</nowiki> has broken away to claim a position of outsider on the Court which seems unlikely to pass with future years".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gtcentre.unsw.edu.au/news/docs/HighCourtStatistics_2004.doc|title=News {{!}} Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law|website=gtcentre.unsw.edu.au|access-date=2019-04-12}}</ref>

Kirby has responded, stating that "on their own, statistics tell little"; to understand Kirby's rate of dissent, it is necessary to examine what his disagreements have been ''about'' and consider whom he has dissented ''from''. Kirby explains "there have always been divisions, reflecting the different philosophies and perspectives of the office-holders", and that, throughout the High Court's history, many dissenting opinions have ultimately been adopted as good law.<ref>{{cite speech
 |title       = Judicial Dissent
 |author      = Michael Kirby
 |date        = 26 February 2005
 |location    = [[James Cook University]]
 |url         = http://www.hcourt.gov.au/speeches/kirbyj/kirbyj_feb05.html
 |access-date  = 14 October 2006
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060918103829/http://www.hcourt.gov.au/speeches/kirbyj/kirbyj_feb05.html
 |archive-date = 18 September 2006
}}</ref> Further, Kirby argues that the rate of dissent, if seen within its context, is relatively small. Cases heard before the full bench of the High Court have proceeded through a series of lower courts and special leave hearings. They are thus likely to test the boundaries of the existing law, and raise opposing, though no less valid, views of the law.<ref>
{{cite episode
 | title = Bold Enough: Justice Michael Kirby
 | series = Sunday Profile
 | series-link = Sunday Profile
 | airdate = 2 December 2007
 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/sundayprofile/stories/s2106109.htm
}}
</ref>

===Retirement and post-retirement life===
Kirby retired from the High Court on 2 February 2009, shortly before reaching the constitutionally mandatory retirement age of 70,<ref>[[Constitution of Australia]], section 72.</ref> and was succeeded by [[Virginia Bell (judge)|Virginia Bell]].<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/high-court-gets-fourth-woman/2008/12/15/1229189518021.html High Court gets fourth woman]. Retrieved 15 December 2008.</ref>

After his retirement, Kirby was appointed to several honorary academic roles at Australian universities. These included appointments to: the [[Australian National University]] (ANU) in Canberra, as distinguished visiting fellow in February 2009;<ref>{{cite news | agency=Australian Associated Press |title=Kirby takes on new job at ANU law school | date=9 February 2009 | work=The Sydney Morning Herald| url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/kirby-takes-on-new-job-at-anu-law-school-20090209-81mu.html | access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> the [[UNSW Faculty of Law|University of New South Wales Faculty of Law]] as visiting professorial fellow in March 2009;<ref>[http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/business-law/michael-kirby-joins-unsw news@unsw Michael Kirby joins UNSW | UNSW Newsroom]</ref> the [[University of Tasmania]] Faculty of Law as [[adjunct professor]] in July 2009; and [[Victoria University, Melbourne|Victoria University]] as an adjunct professor. He has been appointed [[Honorary title (academic)|honorary]] [[visiting professor]] by 12 universities.