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James Douglas

KC

Former Judge, Supreme Court of Queensland

 

Member profile details

Membership level
Fellow
Title
The Hon
First name
James
Last name
Douglas
Post-nominal
KC
Position, Organisation
Former Judge, Supreme Court of Queensland
Biography
The Honourable James Sholto Douglas KC was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland from 27 November 2003 until he reached the retirement age of 70 on 9 February 2020.

On 8 July 2021 he became a commissioner of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide established by the Australian Commonwealth and State governments which reported to the Governor-General of Australia on 9 September 2024. The work of that Royal Commission including its final report is described at: https://defenceveteransuicide.royalcommission.gov.au.

The overwhelming majority of its recommendations have been accepted by the Australian Government and are in the process of implementation. See: https://www.dva.gov.au/documents-and-publications/governments-response-royal-commissions-final-report.

He holds degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Queensland and a postgraduate Bachelor of Laws (1976) from Cambridge University. In 1972 he served as associate to his father, the Honourable Justice James Archibald Douglas of the Supreme Court of Queensland, and later to the Right Honourable Sir Harry Gibbs GCMG KBE AC (1973–74) when he was a judge of the High Court of Australia before he became Chief Justice of Australia.

He was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1973 and, after completing his studies at Cambridge in 1976 and working at Lovell White & King, a large firm of commercial solicitors in London, commenced practice at the bar in 1977. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1989. His Honour served as president (1999–2001) of the Bar Association of Queensland. As a member of the Supreme Court he chaired the Rules Committee and the Streamlining Criminal Justice Committee.

He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, a member of the International Academy of Comparative Law and of the American Law Institute.

As a barrister he practised mainly in civil disputes, including commercial and constitutional law but also in a wide range of other areas of civil practice including contractual and tortious disputes as well as administrative law, industrial law, maritime law and probate and estate work.

As a judge he exercised the wide-ranging jurisdiction of the Queensland Supreme Court in the most serious civil and criminal cases both at the trial and appellate levels. Much of the Court’s civil work was of a commercial nature. He was an early adopter of the use of computer technology in the conduct of hearings and has extended his experience in that domain both as a judge and as a Royal Commissioner.

Outside the law he has been Chairman of the Queensland Theatre Company (1990-1996), Chairman of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra Advisory Board (1989-1996), president of the Alliance Française de Brisbane Inc (2005-2010), a member of the Senate of the Australian Catholic University (2013-2025) and president of the Order of Malta Australia (2019-2025). He is married with two adult children.
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