Christopher John Kourakis (born 17 June 1958) is a

Greek Australian Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek an ...

lawyer and judge. Since 2012 he has been Chief Justice of South Australia.

Early life and education

Kourakis was born on 17 June 1958 grew up in

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...

as one of ten children of Greek migrants Evangelos and Roxani Kourakis. His parents originated from the Greek island of

Ikaria Icaria, also spelled Ikaria ( el, Ικαρία), is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos. According to tradition, it derives its name from Icarus, the son of Daedalus in Greek mythology, who was be ...

. He was educated at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

Career

Kourakis practised at the Independent Bar in South Australia from 1989 and was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1997. He was President of the Law Society of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

from 2001. In 2003 he was appointed as the Solicitor-General of South Australia. When the South Australian government decided to cease appointing Queen's Counsel and the Chief Justice of South Australia began appointing

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...

, Kourakis resigned his commission as Queen's Counsel to become Senior Counsel instead. In 2008, Kourakis was appointed to the Supreme Court of South Australia and in 2012, he was elevated to the position of Chief Justice. In August 2022, he overturned a decision by the former

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

, Steven Marshall, to allow for exploratory mining to go ahead on

Lake Torrens Lake Torrens ( Kuyani: ''Ngarndamukia'') is a large ephemeral, normally endorheic salt lake in central South Australia. After sufficiently extreme rainfall events, the lake flows out through the Pirie-Torrens corridor to the Spencer Gulf. Is ...

, citing concerns that Kelaray's heritage plan and procedures would "substantially detract" from the ''

Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 The ''Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988'' (AHA) is the principal South Australia, South Australian legislation protecting and preserving the state's Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal heritage. It repealed and replaced the ''Aboriginal and Historic R ...

''. In February 2023, together with

Attorney-General of South Australia The attorney-general of South Australia is the Cabinet minister in the Government of South Australia who is responsible for that state's system of law and justice. The attorney-general must be a qualified legal practitioner, although this wa ...

Kyam Maher, Kourakis announced several new appointments to the SA judicial system. Among the appointees were the first two

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...

to be appointed to the

Magistrates Court of South Australia The Magistrates Court of South Australia is the lowest level court in South Australia. The Magistrates Court, then known as the Court of Petty Sessions, was established in 1837, by the Court of Sessions Act 1837'' It has both original and appe ...

, Lana Chester and Natalie Brown.

References

1958 births Australian people of Greek descent Living people Adelaide Law School alumni Australian King's Counsel Australian Senior Counsel Solicitors-General of South Australia Chief Justices of South Australia People from Port Lincoln Judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia 20th-century Australian judges {{Australia-law-bio-stub