A special event was recently held to mark the retirement of the Honourable Richard Edmonds. Members of the legal and academic profession attended a reception at the Allens office in Sydney on Monday 2 May to pay tribute to Justice Edmonds, who retired from the Federal Court of Australia in February 2016.
The latest issue of the Australian Tax Review (Volume 45 No 2, 2016), is a Special Issue dedicated to Justice Edmonds, and acknowledges the contribution he has made to Australian tax jurisprudence over a long and distinguished career. Justice Edmonds is a leading figure who has been at the forefront of major tax developments, and has delivered judgments in some of the most significant tax cases in Australia, some of which are discussed in the Special Issue.
Australian Chief Justice Robert French AC, said:
"As a Federal Court judge, Richard Edmonds contributed very substantially to the body of the Court's work in the field of taxation law in the exercise of both original and appellate jurisdiction. A list of tax cases on which he sat in the Full Court between 2005 and 2015 shows some 94 decisions. They concerned not only substantive questions involving the interpretation and application of tax law, but also the larger body of common law and statute law with which tax law interacts. Various of his decisions required consideration of the administrative powers of the Commissioner of Taxation, the availability of judicial review including certiorari , the powers of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, legal professional privilege, trusts, practice and procedure, res judicata and issue estoppel."
Left to right: Larry Magid, Pamela Edmonds, Justice Richard Edmonds, Professor Ann O’Conne
Annie Luu: Australian Tax Review Special Edition – the retirement of Justice Richard Edmonds