Sir William Flood Webb (21 January 1887 – 11 August 1972) was a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia. He was President of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, common known as the Tokyo trial, after the end of

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 opposing ...

Personal

William Flood Webb was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

on 21 January 1887. He was educated at St Mary's School in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. He studied at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws. On 4 June 1913, Webb was admitted to the Queensland Bar, after scoring a very high 71.5% on the bar examination on 20 May. On 17 March 1917, he married Beatrice Agnew at the Sacred Heart Church in Sandgate. He died in

on 11 August 1972.

Solicitor

In 1915, Webb was the State Public Defender for Queensland and, from 1917 to 1922, was the Crown Solicitor. He was promoted to be

Solicitor-General of Queensland The Solicitor-General of Queensland, known informally as the Solicitor-General, is the state's Second Law Officer, and the deputy of the Attorney-General. The Solicitor-General can exercise the powers of the Attorney-General in their absence. ...

in 1922, a position he held until 1925.

Arbitration Court

Webb was also a Judge of the

Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was an Australian court that operated from 1904 to 1956 with jurisdiction to hear and arbitrate interstate industrial disputes, and to make awards. It also had the judicial functions of i ...

from 1922 to 1927 and, from 1925 to 1945, was President of the Queensland Court of Arbitration.

Supreme Court

Webb was appointed as a puisne judge on 24 April 1925 to the Supreme Court of Queensland. He held this position until, on 17 May 1940, he became senior puisne judge of the same court. On 27 June 1940 he was promoted to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, an office he held until 15 May 1946, when he left to take a seat on the High Court of Australia. In 1943, during his tenure on the court, Webb was appointed by the Government of Australia to investigate allegations of Japanese war crimes during

. Between 1943 and 1945, he produced three reports, known as the Webb reports, into crimes against Australian prisoners of war. He also visited

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1944 to give advice on his reports to the

United Nations War Crimes Commission The United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC) initially called the United Nations Commission for the Investigation of War Crimes, was a commission of the United Nations that investigated allegations of war crimes committed by Nazi Germany and ...

High Court

Webb began his tenure on the High Court of Australia in May 1946. During his tenure, he was President of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, the tribunal which tried Japanese war crimes from

, from 1946 to 1948. Webb was involved in a minor scandal late in 1947, in the leadup to the bank nationalisation case, the Government of Australia tried to recall Webb from

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, by requesting General Douglas MacArthur to release him, because they believed that he would decide the case in a way that was favourable to the Commonwealth. However, after pressure from Justice Owen Dixon, Chief Justice John Latham contacted Webb and encouraged him not to leave Japan. On 12 November 1948, after more than two years of trials, Webb, as President of the Tribunal, handed down the sentences on all of the people whom the Tribunal had found guilty. Webb said that the series of trials conducted in Tokyo were the most "important criminal trials in all history." Webb retired from the High Court on 16 May 1958 after serving exactly twelve years on the bench.

Personal life

Webb married his wife, Beatrice Agnew in 1917 and together they had four daughters and two sons.Webb, Sir William Flood (1887–1972)
— Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 20 December 2014. William Webb died in 1972 and was buried in Nudgee Cemetery.

Honours

In 1942, Webb was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

for his services as Chief Justice of Queensland.It's an Honour
– Knight Bachelor (Imperial) – 1 January 1942
Citation: ''Chief Justice of Queensland.'' In 1954, Webb was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.It's an Honour
– The Order of the British Empire - Knights Commander (Civil) (Imperial) – 10 June 1954
Citation: ''Judge of the High Court.'' In 1967, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws by the

. The road William Webb Drive in the district of

Belconnen The District of Belconnen () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), used in land administration. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Belconn ...

, Canberra is named after him.

References

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