Joseph Gerard Santamaria (born 14 July 1948) is an Australian jurist and a former judge of the Court of Appeal 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 ...

. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in August 2013 and retired in July 2018. He is a Senior Fellow in the

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

programme at the

Melbourne Law School Melbourne Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of the University of Melbourne. Located in Carlton, Victoria, Melbourne Law School is Australia's oldest law school, and offers J.D., LL.M, Ph.D, and LL.D degrees. In 2021-22, THE ...

Education and career

Santamaria attended

St Patrick's College, East Melbourne St Patrick's College was an independent Catholic school in Melbourne, Victoria from 1854 until 1968. It was the second independent school and the first Catholic Church, Catholic secondary education in Australia, secondary school in Victoria founde ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

with honours from 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 ...

. He later attended

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...

and a

Bachelor of Letters Bachelor of Letters (BLitt or LittB; Latin ' or ') is a second undergraduate university degree in which students specialize in an area of study relevant to their own personal, professional, or academic development. This area of study may have been t ...

. Santamaria was admitted to legal practice in 1973. In 1977, he took up a full-time position as an academic at

. In 1978, he was called to the

Victorian Bar The Victorian Bar is the bar association of the Australian State of Victoria. The current President of the Bar is Roisin Annesley KC. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 30 June 2020, there were 2,179 counsels ...

and was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1994. He practised primarily in commercial law and equity. In August 2013, he joined the Court of Appeal, where he remained until his retirement in July 2018. He is a Senior Fellow in the

programme at the

. Together with Ian Renard, Santamaria is the co-author of ''Takeovers and Reconstructions in Australia''. Between 1978 and 1990, Santamaria was a reporter for the ''

Commonwealth Law Reports The Commonwealth Law Reports (CLR) () are the authorised reports of decisions of the High Court of Australia. The Commonwealth Law Reports are published by the Lawbook Company, a division of Thomson Reuters. James Merralls AM QC was the edit ...

''.

Personal

Santamaria is a son of Australian political activist

B. A. Santamaria Bartholomew Augustine Santamaria, usually known as B. A. Santamaria (14 August 1915 – 25 February 1998), was an Australian Roman Catholic anti-Communist political activist and journalist. He was a guiding influence in the founding of the Dem ...

.Gerard Henderson: Santamaria: A Most Unusual Man: Melbourne: Miegunyah: 2015;

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santamaria, Joseph 20th-century King's Counsel Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Melbourne Law School alumni Alumni of University College, Oxford 1948 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Australian King's Counsel