Peter Cadden Heerey (16 February 1939 – 1 May 2021) was a judge of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

from 1990 to 2009. Heerey attended

St Virgil's College St Virgil's College is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day school for boys, located over two campuses in Austins Ferry and Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1911 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, the College has ...

and the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

, graduating 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 ...

(first class honours) degree. He practised as a solicitor in Hobart, before moving to Melbourne to become 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 ...

in 1967, 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 1985. Heerey was appointed to the Federal Court of Australia in 1990. In 1992, he was a judge of the

Supreme Court of Vanuatu Supreme Court of Vanuatu is the superior court of Vanuatu and is based in Port Vila. The Court consists of the Chief Justice and three puisne judges. Appeals from the Supreme Court are heard by the Court of Appeal of Vanuatu, which is the supr ...

. In 2000 he was appointed President of the Australian Defence Force Discipline Appeals Tribunal, in 2003 a Deputy President of the Australian Competition Tribunal and in 2005 a Presidential Member of the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is an Australian tribunal that conducts independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT review decisions made by Australian Gover ...

. Heerey published papers in Australian and overseas professional and academic journals in the areas of corporations law, defamation, expert evidence, intellectual property, law and literature and Federation history. He was 'Judge in Residence' at

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

, Birmingham. Alabama (1993),

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, Montreal, Quebec (1996–97),

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(2001) and the

(2005). In 2007 he taught a course in Patent and Trade Mark Law at the

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 ...

campus in Prato, Italy. Heerey retired from the court on 16 February 2009, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Heerey subsequently practised at the Victorian Bar specialising in advice, arbitration and mediation. He was an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. On 26 January 2012 Heerey was awarded a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM) for his "service to the judiciary through the Federal Court, to the development of legal principle in the areas of intellectual property, trade practices and military law, and to the community". As a judge, he presided over the high-profile case regarding

collusion Collusion is a deceitful agreement or secret cooperation between two or more parties to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading or defrauding others of their legal right. Collusion is not always considered illegal. It can be used to att ...

charges against businessman Richard Pratt, which resulted in the largest fine for collusion against an Australian business in history. Heerey died on 1 May 2021 in Melbourne, aged 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heerey, Peter 1939 births 2021 deaths People from Hobart Australian King's Counsel Australian barristers Judges of the Federal Court of Australia People educated at St Virgil's College Members of the Order of Australia Supreme Court of Vanuatu judges University of Tasmania alumni University of Melbourne alumni