Philip Mandie

Hon. Philip Mandie QC, B.A. LL.B.(Hons) (Melb), LL.M. (Yale) ^[1] (born Melbourne, 25 September 1942) was a Judge on the Supreme Court of Victoria from May 1994 to August 2012. He was Judge in charge of the Commercial List (1995-2001), Corporations List (1995-2001, 2004-2005) and Victorian Taxation Appeals List (2007-2009); Chair of the Supreme Court Library Investment Committee (2002-2112), sometime member of the Supreme Court Executive Committee, Library Committee and Chair of the Supreme Court IT Committee .

He was elevated to the Court of Appeal from the Trial Division in 2009.^[2]

Education: Mandie was educated at Gardenvale State School (1948-1952) and Wesley College (1953-1959). In 1959 he matriculated with a General Exhibition and four first class Honours (Modern History, Latin, French, and Economics) and was Dux of Wesley College in Humanities. Enrolling in Arts and Law, he attended the University of Melbourne from 1960-1964 gaining Exhibitions in Constitutional Law I and Mercantile Law (1963) and in Law Relating to Executors and Trustees and Industrial Law (1964). He was an Editor of the Melbourne University Law Review in 1964. He graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1964. He graduated Bachelor of Laws (Hons) in 1965 with First Class Honours and was awarded the Supreme Court Prize and E.J.B. Nunn Scholarship in the Law Honours Examination. Awarded a scholarship by Yale University and a Fulbright grant, he attended the Yale Law School in 1966-67 and graduated LL.M. in 1967.

Academic Positions: Mandie was Tutor in Introduction to Legal Method and Criminal Law in the Council of Legal Education Law Course (1968), Lecturer in Constitutional Law in the Council of Legal Education Law Course (1969-1973). He served as Independent Lecturer in Procedure in the Faculty of Law, University of Melbourne, and was a member of the Faculty, from 1972 to 1975.

Victorian Bar: Mandie signed the Victorian Bar Roll on 27th March 1969 and practised full time as a barrister from 1969 until his appointment as a judge in 1994. He was appointed Queen's Counsel for Victoria (1983), for New South Wales (1986) and for South Australia (1990). He was an elected member of the Victorian Bar Council in 1974-75,1976-79 and 1982-84. He served as a member of the Bar Executive Committee in 1976-7, as a member of the Bar Ethics Committee 1977-84, and was Secretary of the Bar Ethics Committee from 1979 to 1984. He was also a member of the Bar Accommodation Committee 1972-75, 1976-7, a member of the Joint Bar-Law Institute Committee on Commonwealth Constitution Review 1972-3, a member of the Bar Law Reform Committee 1974-5, a member of the Leo Cussen Property Law Advisory Committee 1980-4, Bar Representative on the Professional Ethics Committee of the International Bar Association 1980-4, and a member of the Attorney-General's Working Party on the Legal Profession Practice Act in 1984.

Mandie retired from the Supreme Court of Victoria on 31 August 2012. The Chief Justice delivered the following address on 29 August 2012:

CHIEF JUSTICE WARREN: "Before the Court rises this morning, I would wish to note that this is in very many respects an auspicious but sad occasion. It is the last time that His Honour Justice Mandie will sit as a member of the Supreme Court of Victoria and in particular as a Judge of the Victorian Court of Appeal.

I am delighted to acknowledge the presence this morning at the bar table of the Chairman of the Victorian Bar, Ms Melanie Sloss SC and also the President of the Law Institute of Victoria Mr Michael Holcroft. They are very gracious to have attended this morning to acknowledge the departure of His Honour from the Bench.

Typically, His Honour has been unforthcoming in providing opportunities to all of us to acknowledge his contribution to this Court and to the law in this state. His Honour preferred not to have a farewell and so there has not been a public opportunity for the Bar and the Profession to acknowledge His Honour's achievements and all he has done for the State.

It falls to me, therefore, to make some remarks if I may. His Honour was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court on 10 May 1994. Subsequently, after an illustrious career on the Bench, His Honour's standing in the judiciary was recognised and he was appointed on 11 August 2009 as a Judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court. It has been my privilege to sit with His Honour on many occasions in leading matters.

I will return to His Honour's career in the Trial Division in a moment. But it is appropriate to go back a little in time to acknowledge the distinction of His Honour both academically and his career as a younger lawyer.

His Honour graduated with honours in Bachelor of Laws, indeed first class honours, in 1965 from the University of Melbourne. His Honour was the Supreme Court prize winner in his year and also the EJB Nunn Scholarship winner in the 1965 Law Honours examination. He played a very active role at all stages of his university life in university debating and moots as would be anticipated.

After leaving university His Honour went to complete his articles of clerkship with Russell Kennedy and Cook, his principal was Mr R.W. Lloyd. His Honour was admitted to practice on 2 May 1966. Subsequently, His Honour never stood still, subsequently, he went to the United States and studied for his Master of Laws Degree at Yale University which he achieved in 1967. He returned to Australia and between 1967 to 1969 he worked as a solicitor with Russell, Kennedy, Cook. Again, His Honour never stood still. He played an active part in academic life and was engaged as a lecturer at the University of Melbourne lecturing in areas such as civil procedure.

But the call of the Bar was strong and indeed most appropriately on 27 March 1969 His Honour signed the Roll of the Victorian Bar with his pupil master Mr Peter Brusey. His Honour engaged in full time practice, rising to be one of the leaders of the Victorian Commercial Bar during the period 1969 to 1994. He had two readers, John A. Gibson and also Jennifer Davies, now Justice Davies a Judge of the Supreme Court.

His Honour took silk and became Queen's Counsel for Victoria in 1983. During his time at the Bar, His Honour was indeed a very active member and contributor to the Bar. He belonged to all number of councils and committees. The Young Barristers’ Committee, the Bar Ethics Committee, the Joint Bar and Law Institute Committee on Commonwealth Constitution Reform, the Leo Cussen Property Law Advisory Committee and the Attorney-General's Working Party on the Legal Profession Act and so it goes. There were indeed extensive involvements by His Honour in a wide range of areas.

His Honour has always played, too, a very strong role in relation to the Jewish community. He was President of the National Union of Australasian Jewish Students in 1965, he was a member of the Board of Management at Temple Beth Israel, Liberal Congregation, Kew 1971-2 and at St Kilda in 1973.

At the Victorian Supreme Court His Honour played a very significant part in the commercial litigation work of the Court. I had the privilege of serving with His Honour on the Commercial List, the precursor of the now Commercial Court for a period of two years. In those days it was indeed a very busy time. His Honour and I ran both the Corporations List and the Commercial List, it being a time when the Federal Jurisdiction did not have jurisdiction with respect to corporations. We were both very busy judges and I believe that His Honour played an important role in turning around the recognition and standing of this Court with respect to both corporation and commercial litigation.

As the Commercial List judge His Honour took on very difficult and burdensome cases. Perhaps the high watermark in one sense was His Honour's conduct of the trial and eventual judgment in the long case brought by the Australian Security and Investments Commission against Waterwheel Holdings. It was a very significant case with respect to directors' duties and responsibilities. Subsequently the matter was considered on appeal and the substantive judgment of His Honour was found to be impeccable. It was indicative of the work of His Honour in the corporations and commercial area.

However, later in his career, as I have already indicated, His Honour was called to the appellate bench. There His Honour has sat in all jurisdictions, and if I might say, His Honour seems to have relished sitting in criminal matters. It has been a delight and a privilege to sit with him, and the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Maxwell, would want me to acknowledge His Honour's contribution to the Court in the last few years.

His Honour is married to Marilyn Mandie, well known to many, she is a lawyer, and they have two daughters, Deborah and Sarah. It has been a delight to have his Honour’s family involved in the court.

One of the high moments of His Honour's personal life has been the occasion when his wife Marilyn moved the admission of their daughter Deborah to be a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Deborah has gone on to a flourishing career at the Victorian Bar.

It is indeed, as I said at the outset, a sad occasion. It has been a wonderful career that His Honour has had, both in the profession and at the Bar and then later on the Bench. We all congratulate His Honour for his achievement and we thank him for his contribution to the law and, in particular, to the administration of justice in this State."

In July 2013 Mandie was appointed a Reserve Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria for a term of five years.

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