State’s ex-chief justice, High Court justices attend Justice Rowena Orr’s ceremonial sitting
In her address during the ceremonial sitting marking her appointment as the fourth president of the Victoria Court of Appeal, Justice Rowena Orr dubbed the bench’s range in professional and personal backgrounds as the court’s best strength.
“I see my role as very much part of a collective effort, and I look forward to listening to each of you and working with you in the coming months to find ways to improve how we operate as a court,” Justice Orr said.
“The Court of Appeal has enormously benefited from the quality of those who have held the role of President and I am confident that Justice Orr will make her own outstanding contribution,” said Richard Niall, chief justice of the Victoria Supreme Court. “President Orr is a judge of the highest calibre and a person of great humanity and judgment.”
“I am acutely aware of both the privilege and the responsibility that comes with serving as the President of the Court of Appeal,” Orr said. “I don’t take this opportunity lightly.”
According to the Victoria Supreme Court’s news release, Michelle Gorton and Simon Steward, justices of the High Court of Australia, and Anne Ferguson, former chief justice of Victoria, attended the event.
During her address in the Banco Court, Justice Orr confirmed her commitment to intellectual rigour and to service to the Victorian community.
“For the judges that make up the Court of Appeal, a commitment to public service is central to what motivates us,” she said. “We understand that the public’s trust in our work is not something we can take for granted and that part of our job is not just administering justice but explaining it.”
Orr also committed to an improved administration of justice. She described the legal fraternity as the backbone of the state’s administration of justice.
Justice Orr stressed the importance of the court’s open communication and proactive engagement with the legal profession, other jurisdictions, and the community.
“In the Court of Appeal, we know we only see a small proportion of the overall number of cases being heard,” she said. “We rely on the immense amount of work that has already been done by practitioners and judicial officers both in the matters that come before us, and the matters that don’t result in appeal.”
On behalf of the judges and staff of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Chief Justice Niall expressed approval for Orr’s appointment to her leadership role in the appeal court.
“Since its inception in 1995, the Court of Appeal has continued the distinguished legacy of the Full Court of the Supreme Court as an appellate court of very high repute,” he said. “The Court of Appeal has enhanced the jurisprudence of the State and the country across all the areas of its work including in both the civil and criminal jurisdictions.”
Here are some other recent news stories involving the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Sonya Kilkenny, Victoria’s attorney-general, announced the appointment of Orr, former state solicitor-general, as president of the Court of Appeal of Victoria as of 29 September 2026, in place of Karin Emerton.
On 15 September 2026, the Victoria Supreme Court announced the release of a practice note for litigants seeking to represent themselves in civil proceedings, as well as an updated version of its practice note for custom, protocol, and communications with the court.
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