The Commercial Law Conference returned for two days of discussion on key issues.
The return of the Commercial Law Conference has been hailed a resounding success with the sold-out event examining emerging issues in commercial law.
The conference, which previously ran annually from 2009 to 2016 as a joint initiative of the Supreme Court, Melbourne Law School and the then Centre for Corporate Law, is an important forum for collaboration and dialogue between the judiciary, the legal profession and academia.
Held on August 27 and 28, the program included lectures and panels on topics including AI and its impact on commercial law practice, the obligations imposed on directors under the new sustainability reporting regime, directors’ duties in the face of impending insolvency, and the host of property, insolvency and conflicts of laws issues that are raised in the context of cryptocurrencies.
Chief Justice Richard Niall, in his opening remarks, welcomed attendees and reminded them of the role that independent and impartial courts play in the economic prosperity and sustainability of our society.
“It is vital that our work recognises the importance of timely, efficient and principled disposition of cases,” he told the conference.
“This requires an openness to innovation and exchange. It requires engagement and interaction with the profession and the academy.”
“That is why conferences such as this are so important and so worthwhile.”
In her keynote speech, High Court of Australia Justice Michelle Gordon AC said in a world shaped by rapid technological and economic change, the enduring strength of the rule of law and public trust in institutions remained fundamental.
“Legal culture is not produced by individual excellence alone,” she said.
“It is cultivated through shared expectations about preparation, cooperation, proportionality, expedition, judgment and fairness.”
“By asking the right questions, we can create conditions in which commercial parties, legal institutions and the people who sustain them can thrive.”
In his closing remarks, Chief Justice Richard Niall said that the thought-provoking sessions and excellent reception had cemented the future of the conference.
The Chief Justice thanked all of the speakers and those from the Commercial Court, Melbourne Law School and the Melbourne Centre for Commercial Law, who worked tirelessly to put the event together.
Photo credit: Greta Robenstone, Office for Research, Melbourne Law School, and Yonit Chait, Commercial Court, Supreme Court of Victoria.