Honorary Judicial Speech “The Spirit of the Judicial Task and the Importance of International Judicial Dialogue”: The Hon James Allsop AC, Former Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia at the Fifth Full Meeting of the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts in Doha on Sunday 21 April 2024

Abstract

The Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts (SIFoCC) was established in 2017 to share best practices among commercial courts in order to meet the challenges of rapid commercial change. One of the primary goals of SIFoCC is to support developing countries by enhancing their commercial dispute resolution capabilities and improve their attractiveness to investors. Since 2017, SIFoCC has held five full meetings in London (2017), New York (2018), Singapore (2019), Sydney (2022) and, most recently, Doha (2024). Some of the world’s most eminent commercial law judges and jurists have participated in these meetings and shared thoughts and insights on commercial dispute resolution practices and trends. The Rt. Hon. James Allsop AC is one of Australia’s most preeminent judicial officers having served as Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia from 1 March 2013 to 6 April 2023 and was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2023 for services to the judiciary and the law. In January 2024, Justice Allsop AC was sworn in as an International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC). Having previously co-chaired SIFoCC’s first ever International Working Group in 2018 (being a Working Group on ‘Working Presumptions on International Best Practice in Case Management’), His Honour has enthusiastically shared his vast empierce with SIFoCC members since the start. In April 2024, Qatar University was honoured to host the Fifth Full Meeting of SIFoCC and in particular welcome The Honourable James Allsop AC to deliver the keynote address on Sunday 21st April 2024. The speech is titled ‘The Spirit of the Judicial Task and the Importance of International Judicial Dialogue’. It is at once a deep and broad meditation on judicial decision making looking at both the history and future of the judicial role, particularly with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence. With his blessing, the College of Law at Qatar University and the International Review of Law is pleased to publish Justice Allsop’s speech in full.