Justice Anthe Philippides (a 1984 Commonwealth Scholar from Australia, LLM Cambridge University) has warm memories of her year at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, with inspirational teaching on new aspects of law. Anthe was privileged to study under the guidance of celebrated legal academics, such as Professor Gareth Jones (in Restitution), and Professor David Williams (in Judicial Review), who went on to become the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.
On her return to Australia, Anthe practiced as a barrister in Queensland, where she developed a specialty in maritime law, an area which she became interested in at Cambridge during her studies of international commercial law. She went on to become President of the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand, and was appointed to an extensive range of state and national maritime legal and industry bodies, including the Port of Brisbane Corporation and the Council of the National Maritime Museum in Sydney. She took silk and was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2000.
Cambridge also provided an opportunity to exchange ideas with lawyers from a diverse background, including Commonwealth students who shared a similar legal tradition. These exchanges of ideas concerning the law and the insights gained from exposure to comparative analysis have proved valuable both at the bar and on the bench.
Her time at Cambridge was a formative experience in the journey from student to judge. Justice Philippides acknowledges the important role that the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission plays in encouraging Commonwealth students to undertake postgraduate study abroad and in fostering enduring international ties.
