Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull [official website] on Monday named Susan Kiefel [official profile] Australia’s chief Justice, marking the first time that a woman will hold the highest position on the High Court since its inception in 1903. The vacancy was created after Chief Justice Robert French [official website] announced that he would step down from the court in January. Kiefel did not have the typical path to becoming chief justice, dropping out of school [ABC report] at the age of 15. She then entered a technical college where she learned secretarial skills. She held multiple jobs while finishing high school, then studied law at night. She is now the longest serving member on the High Court, which also includes two other women.

The High Court of Australia [official website] has been in the center of the asylum seeker controversy just off its mainland. The High Court ruled in February that the offshore detention policy [JURIST report] was legal. Since this decision the country has been embattled in a series of reports from different rights organizations. Guest columnists Anna Talbot and Greg Barns discuss [JURISTop-ed] the legality of the offshore asylum process on Manus Island. In May detainees from Manus Island brought a challenge [JURIST report] to the Australian courts. All of which has led up to Australia announcing last month that it was going to review new legislation [JURIST report] over refugees.