Celebrating Leadership in Judicial Education

“It is a great privilege to welcome you all here for this special evening to the National Portrait Gallery. We come together to celebrate the contribution of the Honourable John Doyle AC KC and his leadership in judicial education. Education is one of the greatest gifts of human interaction and the joy of education is intrinsic to the experience of both the educator and the recipient. We celebrate this gift tonight.” Chief Justice Christopher Kourakis, NJCA Council Chair, Inaugural John Doyle Oration, April 2024, Canberra

“Without question, John made judicial education part of the institutional architecture of the Australian judiciary. And, without question, the Australian judiciary and the Australian public are better off for it.“ Chief Justice Stephen Gageler, Inaugural John Doyle Oration, April 2024, Canberra

The NJCA is delighted to welcome members of the broader legal community to the forthcoming John Doyle Oration 2026. The Oration is an opportunity to pause, reflect and celebrate the importance of judicial leadership in Australia. Judicial education would not be what it is today had John not campaigned for the creation of the National Judicial College and had he not been the inaugural chair of the NCJA Council and had he not gone on to create what has become the “engine room” of the NJCA, the Program Advisory Committee.

The John Doyle Oration for 2026 will be delivered by the Honourable Justice Robert Beech-Jones, High Court of Australia. Justice Beech-Jones is currently Co-Chair of the NJCA Program Advisory Committee.

The NJCA is delighted to welcome members of the broader Australian legal community to this important NJCA event.

The Honourable John Doyle, formerly Chief Justice of South Australia, has made countless achievements, advocating for the improvement of the administration of justice in Australia.

The Honourable John Doyle was the first Chair of the Council of the National Judicial College of Australia in 2002 and remained Chair until 2006. As Chair, he developed and implemented programs which included training on judicial leadership, social context awareness and judicial conduct and ethics.

At the launch of the NJCA in 2002, the Honourable John Doyle stated “I believe that the case for a National Judicial College for judicial education is self-evident. However, it is worth restating it very briefly. The work of the judiciary is demanding. Judges and Magistrates are expected to have professional legal skills of a high order. They should also have a wide range of practical judicial skills to enable them to carry out judicial work properly. Some of these practical skills are peculiar to the judicial role, some are skills that are also required in other professions.

The administration of justice involves much more than professional and practical competence. There is a qualitative aspect to the administration of justice which calls for judicial officers to have a real enthusiasm for their work, a strong belief in the importance of justice, and a commitment to the administration of justice in the fullest sense of the word. While these attitudes and beliefs are instilled in us in our professional life, experience tells us that over time judicial officers can become cynical and can suffer what is generally called “burn out”. Experience tells us that most judicial officers can benefit from programmes of professional development that help them avoid this phenomenon.“

The NJCA Council and NJCA Program Advisory Committee are honoured that the Honourable John Doyle AC KC and family have accepted our invitation to join us for this special evening.

The NJCA recommends early registration as places will be limited.

The John Doyle Oration coincides with the NJCA Symposium – Memory, Trauma, Evidence and the Courts. If you would like to also attend the Symposium, please register for the both the John Doyle Oration and the Symposium here.

Pre-dinner drinks from 6:30 pm followed by dinner at 7:30 pm.

Dress code is business attire.