George Hampel AM QC was a Justice of the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...

from 1983 to 2000, having previously practised as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

since 1958.

Early life

Hampel was born in Poland just prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the son of Polish Jews. His family escaped Poland to spend the wartime years in Russia. Although his immediate family survived the Holocaust, much of his extended family did not.The power of two - www.theage.com.au
/ref> When the war ended, he moved with his family to France, and then eventually to Australia. He was then educated at Melbourne High School and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

Career

Hampel has held numerous positions in the legal profession, such as Vice-President of the

Law Council of Australia The Law Council of Australia, founded in 1933, is an association of law societies and bar associations from the states and territories of Australia, and the peak body representing the legal profession in Australia. The Law Council represents mo ...

, Vice-Chairman of the Victorian Bar Institute and Chairman of the Constitution Commission of Victoria, for which he received a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

. Since 2000, he has been Professor of Trial Practice and Advocacy at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

, and Chairman of the Legal Practice Board of Victoria. He is also President of the International Institute of Forensic Studies. He is considered a leader in the teaching of advocacy, and together with his wife, has trained war crime prosecutors at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. In 2006, he was appointed a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

Personal life

Hampel is married to

County Court of Victoria The County Court of Victoria is the intermediate court in the Australian state of Victoria. It is equivalent to district courts in the other states. The County Court is the principal trial court in the state, having a broad criminal and civi ...

judge

Felicity Hampel Felicity Pia Hampel (born 1 June 1955) is a prominent Australian human rights lawyer and, since 2005, judge of the County Court of Victoria. Hampel's career as a barrister began in 1981, and she became a Senior Counsel in 1996. She has serve ...

SC, with whom he often teaches. They have two children: * Hampel's son, Antony Hampel, an event coordinator, was the de facto partner of Phoebe Handsjuk, who plunged to her death in the garbage chute of their luxury apartment in Melbourne, in 2010, aged 24. Despite a coroner's finding in 2014 that the death was a sleepwalking accident caused by a combination of depression, alcohol, and Stilnox, many questions remain. * Hampel's daughter, Kristina Hampel, escaped conviction in 2014 for selling cocaine and possessing a can of tear gas.

References

External links

Official website
Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Australian legal scholars Monash University faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Australian Senior Counsel Members of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal 20th-century Australian judges People educated at Melbourne High School University of Melbourne alumni Polish emigrants to Australia Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent {{Australia-law-bio-stub