The Honourable Justice Peter Buchanan (11 October 1943 – 19 May 2014) was a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

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 ...

, the highest court in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, a state of

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. Buchanan was appointed a judge of the court on 27 October 1997; he retired in October 2013. At the time of his retirement, Buchanan was, and remains, the longest-serving member of the Court of Appeal. Buchanan died on 19 May 2014.

Education and career

After finishing high school at the Scotch College in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Mr. Buchanan studied Arts and Law at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. He then obtained a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in the areas of wills and trusts. On his return to Melbourne, Buchanan became a QC and participated in a number of high-profile cases, including the one which concerned Albert Park.

Notable cases

Buchanan has been involved in a number of significant cases in Victoria. In July 2003, Buchanan along with Justice Stephen Charles granted a stay of order made earlier by Justice Phillip Mandie against John Elliott, a prominent Australian businessman. The effect was to allow Elliot to continue managing several family-owned companies and a directorship. The order was made there would be "a potentially severe disruption" to the trading activities of the companies if the stay wasn't granted. In August 2005, Buchanan along with Justice

Geoffrey Nettle Geoffrey Arthur Akeroyd Nettle (born 2 December 1950) is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy, who served from 3 February 2015 to 30 November 2020. Prior to his appointment to the ...

granted leave to appeal a decision against Danny Nalliah and Daniel Scot, and a Christian organisation called "Catch the Fire Ministries". The decision against those persons was the first decision under Victoria's racial vilification laws (the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act) in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). In December 2006, Buchanan with Justices Chris Maxwell and Frank Vincent upheld an appeal by Jack Thomas (commonly referred to as "Jihad Jack") against his conviction for terrorism related offences. Thomas was accused of accepting money and a plane ticket from an Al-Qaida terrorist. The court found that Thomas's interview with the

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was not voluntary, and as a result, ordered a retrial for Thomas.New trial for Thomas , Herald Sun Andrew Bolt Blog
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References

Sources

*Homepage - Supreme Court of Victoria http://www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au *Who's Who Australia 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Peter Alumni of the University of London 2014 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Australian National University alumni 1943 births