New Delhi, 13th January 2018: Eminent international jurist, Hon’ble Mr. Michael Kirby AC CMG, Former Judge, High Court of Australia has been appointed as Honorary Adjunct Professor of Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU).
Hon’ble Mr. Kirby joins Hon. Mr. Justice Michael D. Wilson and Hon. Ms. Justice Sabrina S. McKenna, distinguished Judges of Supreme Court of Hawai’i in the United States of America, distinguished Indian judge, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dalveer Bhandari, Judge, International Court of Justice at The Hague, eminent jurist and parliamentarian, Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, distinguished lawyer, Mr Gopal Subramanium, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India who have earlier been appointed as Honorary Adjunct Professors at the Jindal Global Law School.
Mr. Kirby is credited with frequent citations of Indian judgments, during his tenure as a judge. According to a recent study by Australian and Indian professors, his citations of Indian judgments alone constitute 64% of the total citations of Indian judgments by the Judges of the High Court of Australia, which is the apex court in the country. In addition to his longstanding connection to India, in 2014, Justice Kirby was also appointed as the presiding arbitrator in the KG basin dispute.
Speaking on the occasion, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) and Dean of Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), said, “The founding vision of JGU is to promote global education across different disciplines led by appointment of faculty members from different parts of the world with outstanding academic qualifications and experience. The appointment of Hon’ble Mr. Michael Kirby AC CMG, as Adjunct Professor at Jindal Global Law School is a demonstration of our commitment towards global legal education while recognizing the need for giving opportunities to our students to gain perspectives and experiences that transcend geography and jurisdiction.”
“It is our proud privilege to welcome Hon’ble Mr. Michael Kirby as “Honorary Adjunct Professor” to our university,” he noted.
The citation for his appointment as Honorary Adjunct Professor at Jindal Global Law School appreciated his contributions and reads as follows: “For his significant contribution to the judiciary, comparative and international law, the India Australia legal relationship and legal education.”
Professor Shaun Star, Executive Director, CIAS and Assistant Dean, Jindal Global Law School, observed, “There has been no greater advocate of the India Australia bilateral legal relationship than Justice Michael Kirby. We are delighted to host Justice Kirby once again in India. His involvement as a member of the advisory board of the Centre for India Australia Studies and more recently as an Honorary Adjunct Professor of Jindal Global Law School underscore his commitment to promoting stronger ties between our two jurisdictions. By hosting public events and activities with eminent jurists, academics and policy-makers, the CIAS hopes to further strengthen the awareness and interest in the bilateral relationship for future generations.”
Hon’ble Michael Kirby AC CMG is an international jurist and former judge. He served as a Deputy President of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission (1975-83); Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1975-84); Judge of the Federal Court of Australia (1983-4); President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal (1984-96); President of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands (1995-96) and Justice of the High Court of Australia (1996-2009).
Mr. Kirby has undertaken many international activities for the United Nations, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the OECD and the Global Fund against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He has also worked in civil society, being elected President of the International Commission of Jurists (1995-8).
His recent international activities have included member of the Eminent Persons Group on the Future of the Commonwealth of Nations (2010-11); Commissioner of the UNDP Global Commission on HIV and the Law (2011-12); Chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry on DPRK (North Korea) (2013-14); and Member of the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Access to Essential Healthcare (2015-16).
In 1990 he was awarded the Australian Human Rights Medal. In 1998, he was named Laurette of the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education. In 2010 he was named co-winner of the Gruber Justice Prize. In 2011 he received the inaugural Australian Privacy Medal. The honorary degrees of Doctor of Letters, Doctor of Laws and Doctor of the University have been conferred on him by universities in Australia and overseas.
Mr. Kirby’s visit to India and appointment as Honorary Adjunct Professor of JGLS comes at a time when over 40 Australian students are also visiting JGU under the ‘India Immersion Programme’ being convened by the Centre for India Australia Studies (CIAS).
The annual 3-week residential programme aims to introduce Australian students to the many different facets of India and is funded by the New Colombo Plan of the Australian government which enables undergraduate students from leading Australian universities to visit and study in the Indo Pacific region.
The CIAS is the first and only Centre with a focus on the India-Australia bilateral relationship that is embedded in an Indian Higher Education Institution.
The CIAS engages with stakeholders from Australia and India to promote deeper ties and meaningful collaborations in the India Australia relationship.
About O.P. Jindal Global University
O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) is a non-profit global university established by the Government of Haryana and recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC). JGU was established as a philanthropic initiative of its Founding Chancellor, Mr. Naveen Jindal in memory of his father, Mr. O.P. Jindal. JGU has been awarded the highest grade ‘A’ by the National Accreditation & Assessment Council (NAAC).
JGU is one of the few universities in Asia that maintains a 1:13 faculty-student ratio and appoints faculty members from India and different parts of the world with outstanding academic qualifications and experience. JGU is a research intensive university, which is deeply committed to its core institutional values of Interdisciplinarity and innovative pedagogy; pluralism and rigorous scholarship; and globalism and international engagement. JGU has established eight schools: Jindal Global Law School (JGLS), Jindal Global Business School (JGBS), Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA), Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (JSGP), Jindal School of Liberal Arts & Humanities (JSLH), Jindal School of Journalism & Communication (JSJC), Jindal School of Art & Architecture (JSAA) and
Jindal School of Banking & Finance (JSBF) .