View source for William Gummow

{{short description|Justice of the High Court of Australia (born 1942)}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Honourable]]
| name                = William Gummow
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|AC}}
| image               = 
| image_size          = 
| office              = [[List of Justices of the High Court of Australia|Justice of the High Court of Australia]]
| nominator           = [[Paul Keating]]
| appointer           = [[Bill Hayden]]
| term_start          = 21 April 1995
| term_end            = 8 October 2012
| predecessor         = [[Gerard Brennan|Sir Gerard Brennan]]
| successor           = [[Stephen Gageler]]
| office2             = Non-Permanent Judge of the [[Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)|Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong]]
| term_start2         = 29 July 2013
| appointer2          = [[Leung Chun-ying]]
| occupation          = Judge, barrister, solicitor
| birth_name          = William Montague Charles Gummow
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1942|10|09|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Sydney]], New South Wales, Australia
| spouse              = 
| children            = 
| nationality         = {{AUS}}
| module              = {{Infobox Chinese 
| embed = yes
| child            = yes
| c                = {{linktext|甘|慕|賢}}
| j                = Gam<sup>1</sup> Mou<sup>6</sup> Jin<sup>4</sup>
| y                = Gām Mouh Yìhn}}
}}
'''William Montague Charles Gummow''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AC}} (born 9 October 1942) is a former Justice of the [[High Court of Australia]], the highest court in the [[Australian court hierarchy]]. He was appointed to the [[Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)|Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong]] on 8 April 2013 as a non-permanent judge from other common law jurisdictions.<ref name="Top court gets new permanent judge">{{cite web |title=Top court gets new permanent judge |date=2013-04-09 |website=[[South China Morning Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200525230305/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1210223/top-court-gets-new-permanent-judge |archive-date=2020-05-25 |url-status=live |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1210223/top-court-gets-new-permanent-judge}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Justice Gummow completed his secondary education at [[Sydney Grammar School]]. He went on to study at the [[University of Sydney]], where he graduated as Bachelor of Arts, and later Master of Laws, both with first-class honours. One of his lecturers was Sir [[Anthony Mason (judge)|Anthony Mason]].<ref name="companion">{{cite book |last=Lehane |first=John |chapter=Gummow, William Montague Charles |title=The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia |editor1-last=Blackshield |editor1-first=Tony |editor2-last=Coper |editor2-first=Michael |editor3-first=George |editor3-last=Williams |editor3-link=George Williams (lawyer) | year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press | location=South Melbourne, Victoria | isbn=0-19-554022-0 }}</ref>

==Career==
===Early legal career===
Gummow first practiced as a solicitor with law firm [[Allens Arthur Robinson|Allen Allen and Hemsley]]. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1966 and became a partner of the firm in 1969. He had a diverse practice, including banking law, trusts and revenue law, intellectual property litigation, commercial transactions and some constitutional law.<ref name="companion" />

===Barristerial career===
After 10 years in practice as a solicitor, Gummow was called to the New South Wales Bar in 1976. At the bar, his practice included equity, commercial, tax and intellectual property matters. It also included large constitutional issues and in several cases he appeared as a junior to then Commonwealth Solicitor-General, [[Maurice Byers]]. Gummow was appointed a [[Queen's Counsel]] in 1986.<ref name="companion" />

===Judicial career===
In 1986, Justice Gummow was appointed to the [[Federal Court of Australia]]. He was appointed to the High Court of Australia in April 1995.<ref name="companion" /> He retired from the High Court on 8 October 2012, upon reaching the constitutionally mandatory retirement age of 70.<ref>[[Constitution of Australia]], section 72.</ref> 

On 8 April 2013, he was appointed to the [[Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)|Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong]] as a non-permanent judge from other common law jurisdictions.<ref name="Top court gets new permanent judge"/> He remains in the position {{as of |lc=yes|July 2025}}, along with other Australian judges [[Patrick Keane]] and [[James Allsop]], after British judge [[Jonathan Sumption]] resigned, criticising the judiciary of Hong Kong after 14 prominent democratic activists were convicted for [[subversion]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Hogan | first=Libby | title=Top judges quit Hong Kong's court, ex-judge warns rule of law is 'profoundly compromised' | website=ABC News | date=11 June 2024 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-11/judge-warns-hong-kong-rule-of-law-in-danger-three-judges-quit/103965104 | access-date=11 June 2024}}</ref>

===Academic career===
For 30 years, from the year of his graduation until his appointment as a judge, Gummow taught at the [[Sydney Law School|Faculty of Law]] at the University of Sydney. He lectured in [[equity (law)|equity]] from 1970 to 1995.<ref name="companion" /> Gummow's essay ''Legal Education'' (1988) emphasised the importance of statutes and legal history; areas he considers were and are insufficiently taught in Australian law schools. He further advocated the need for practitioners in legal education, who were exposed to 'the law in action'.<ref>{{cite journal |first=William M. C |last=Gummow |title=Legal Education |year=1988 |volume=11 |journal=Sydney Law Review |page=439 }}</ref>

Following his retirement from the High Court of Australia, Gummow was appointed a Professor of the Sydney Law School, where he gives guest lectures,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sydney.edu.au/news/law/436.html?newscategoryid=66&newsstoryid=11287&goback=.gna_4077614.gde_4077614_member_228962219#!|title=Welcome to Professor William Gummow, AC|publisher=Sydney Law School|date=4 April 2013}}</ref> and a professor at the Australian National University (ANU) College of Law,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://law.anu.edu.au/anu-college-law/anu-feature/justice-gummow-appointed-anu-professor |title=Justice Gummow appointed as ANU Professor - ANU College of Law - ANU |website=law.anu.edu.au |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324070752/http://law.anu.edu.au/anu-college-law/anu-feature/justice-gummow-appointed-anu-professor |archive-date=2014-03-24}} </ref> where he teaches in the constitutional, equity, conflict of laws and refugee law programs.

==Jurisprudence==
Gummow's judgments are notable for their careful attention to statutory language and context, and are marked by a thorough and scholarly examination of doctrinal history. Gummow is particularly known for his contribution to [[intellectual property]] law and [[equity (law)|equity]].

Any attempt to select notable judgments of Justice Gummow is made difficult because he is so often a participant in joint judgments, whose authorship cannot be attributed. However, some of his more notable individual opinions include: ''[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1995/63.html Breen v Williams]'', ''[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1996/24.html Kable v Director of Public Prosecutions for New South Wales]'', ''[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1996/40.html The Wik Peoples v The State of Queensland]'', ''[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1997/9.html Hill trading as R F Hill & Associates v Van Erp]'', ''[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1998/3.html Pyrenees Shire Council v Day]'', ''[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2000/52.html Scott v Davis]'', ''[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2001/68.html Roxborough v Rothmans of Pall Mall]'', and ''[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2004/37.html Al-Kateb v Godwin]''.

Gummow is also the author of, or participant in, numerous leading judgments in [[intellectual property]] law. See, for example: ''Werner & Co v Bailey Aluminium Products'' (1989), ''Advanced Building Systems v Ramset Fasteners'' (1998), ''Prestige Group v Dart Industries'' (1990), ''ConAgra v McCain Foods'' (1992).

Statistics in recent years have consistently shown Justice Gummow to be most likely to participate or be joined in a majority opinion. He only dissented once in 2006, out of 55 judgments.<ref name="2006 Statistics">{{Cite journal |author1=Lynch, Andrew |author2=Williams, George |author2-link=George Williams (lawyer) |title=The High Court on Constitutional Law: The 2006 Statistics |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/UNSWLawJl/2007/9.pdf }} (2007) 30(1) [[University of New South Wales Law Journal]] 188.</ref> Justice Gummow also often joins with Justice Hayne; in 2006 this number was 40 (75.47%) joint judgments. Similarly, in the same year Justices Gummow and Hayne joined each other in judgment in all 11 constitutional cases.<ref name="2006 Statistics"/>{{rp|198–199}} [[Michael McHugh (judge)|Michael McHugh]], who served on the court with Gummow for ten years, has called Gummow as a "great judicial politician", referring to his ability to convince other justices of the court to join in his opinions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/01/30/1232818725589.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2|title=Now history will be the judge|last=Marr|first=David |author-link=David Marr (journalist) |date=31 January 2009|work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=6 November 2011}}</ref>

==Publications==
Gummow has written extensively and has published numerous essays and articles.

He is the author of books including ''Change and Continuity: Statute, Equity, and Federalism'', which is based upon the lectures he delivered at [[Oxford University]] in 1999 as part of the Clarendon law lectures series. These lectures take up themes of continuity and change in the law, particularly as they appear in the great common law jurisdictions.

He is a co-author of ''Jacobs' Law of Trusts in Australia'', and ''[[Equity: Doctrines and Remedies]]'', the pre-eminent text on equity in Australia. Gummow also wrote, with [[Dyson Heydon]] and Robert Austin, several editions of ''Cases and Materials on Equity and Trusts'' (4th ed, 1993).

==Personal life==
Gummow is unmarried and protective of his personal life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/law-enforcers/william-gummow|title=Law & Order: William Gummow|first=Matthew|last=Knott|date=6 October 2011|publisher=The Power Index|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130405123703/http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/law-enforcers/william-gummow|archive-date=5 April 2013}}</ref>

In 2018, Gummow suffered a [[deep vein thrombosis|blood clot in a leg]] following a long-haul flight and had to have part of his leg amputated in Sydney.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/no-justice-with-news-of-chief-justice-peter-quinlan-20180801-h13ffb|title=No justice with news of chief justice Peter Quinlan|first=Michael|last=Pelly|date=2 August 2018|work=Australian Financial Review}}</ref>

==Honours==
Gummow was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of Australia]] (AC), Australia's highest civil honour, in 1997,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/882368 |work=It's an Honour |title=Gummow, William: Companion of the Order of Australia |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia}}</ref> and awarded the [[Centenary Medal]] in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1115011 |work=It's an Honour |title=Gummow, William: Centenary Medal |date=1 January 2001 |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia}}</ref>

The University of Sydney honoured Gummow's scholarly contributions to the law by conferring him with an honorary doctorate in law (LLD).<ref name="companion" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

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{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=None}}
{{s-ttl|title=Non-Permanent Judge of the [[Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)|Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong]]|years=2013–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-prec}}
{{s-bef|before = [[David Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury|Lord Neuberger]]<br /><small>''Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal''</small>}}
{{s-ttl|title = [[Hong Kong order of precedence]]<br /><small>''Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal''</small>}}
{{s-aft|after = [[Patrick Keane]]<br /><small>''Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal''</small>}}
{{end}}

{{Justices of the High Court of Australia}}
{{Judiciary of Hong Kong}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gummow, William}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:Australian people of Cornish descent]]
[[Category:Australian King's Counsel]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:Judges of the Federal Court of Australia]]
[[Category:Justices of the High Court of Australia]]
[[Category:People educated at Sydney Grammar School]]
[[Category:Sydney Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Australian judges on the courts of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong)]]