Gillian Triggs

Emeritus Professor Gillian Triggs
Gillian Triggs, 2006
President of the Australian Human Rights Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 July 2012 (2012-07-30)
Appointed by	Attorney-General of Australia
Preceded by	Catherine Branson QC
Personal details
Born	(1945-10-30) 30 October 1945
Citizenship	Australian
Spouse(s)	Alan Brown AM
Children	3 (1 deceased)
Alma mater	University of Melbourne Southern Methodist University
Occupation	Academic
Profession	Barrister Public international lawyer Academic

Gillian Doreen Triggs (born 30 October 1945) is an Australian academic specialising in public international law with publications on World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes resolution, energy and resources law, law of the sea, territorial sovereignty, jurisdiction and immunity, international criminal law, international environmental law, and human rights. Triggs is the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission and was Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner from 30 July 2012 to 19 August 2013. She is an emeritus professor at the University of Sydney, where she was Dean of the Sydney Law School between 2007 and 2012.

Background and early career

Triggs attended University High School and the University of Melbourne, where she earned a Bachelor of Laws in 1967 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1982. After her admission to the Supreme Court of Victoria as a barrister and solicitor, Triggs worked as a tutor at Monash University.

She also earned a Master of Laws from Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, whilst working with the Dallas Police Department, serving as Legal Advisory to the Chief of Police on the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Later career

File:GillianTriggsspeaking.jpg

Triggs speaking at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 2006.

In 1987, Triggs joined Mallesons Stephen Jaques, where she worked as a consultant on international law. Subsequently, Triggs practised as a barrister at Sydney barristers' chambers Seven Wentworth Chambers. It is unclear how long, if at all, Triggs was full-time in these positions as she was a full-time Professor at Melbourne Law School from 1996 to 2005.

Triggs was the Director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law from July 2005 to September 2007. Before taking up her appointment, she was the Director of the Institute for Comparative and International Law at the University of Melbourne, where she held a Chair in Law.

Triggs returned to Australia in 2007, to become the Dean of the University of Sydney Law School and Challis Professor of International Law. She took up this role in October 2007. On 27 July 2012, Triggs retired as Dean of the Sydney Law School to take up her appointment as the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, for a period of five years commencing 30 July 2012. Following the resignation of Helen Szoke, she was Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner from January to August 2013, until Tim Soutphommasane was appointed to the role.

On 3 February 2014 Triggs launched the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014, to "investigate the ways in which life in immigration detention affects the health, well-being and development of children."

Since late in 2014 and following the report mentioned above National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014 an increasing amount of tension has existed between the Australian Government under PM Tony Abbott and the Office of the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission. There have been Government Members [ Speaker B. Bishop in particular on an episode of QandA ] calling for Prof Triggs to step down from her presidency of the Australian HRC. Subsequently an unprecedented Social Media Campaign to have Professor Triggs recognised as the 2016 Australian of The Year has garnered the support of in excess of 15,000 Facebook Users. (see external link below)

Personal life

Triggs resides in Sydney, and is married to former Australian diplomat Alan Brown AM . Triggs was previously married to Melbourne law professor Sandy Clark, with whom she had three children.

Triggs' third child, a daughter named Victoria, was born in 1984, profoundly disabled and with a short life expectancy. When Victoria was six months of age, Triggs and Clark arranged for Victoria to be primarily cared for by another family, rather than look after her themselves. Victoria eventually survived until the age of 21. When asked about the decision, Triggs responded, "But in the end I simply made the judgement that I would rather put my time into my other children and family, because I also never believed she would live to that age."

In addition to her native English, Triggs speaks some French.

External links

• Professor Gillian Triggs - University of Sydney
• Professor Gillian Triggs - Australian Human Rights Commission
• Gillian Triggs on Twitter
• Gillian Triggs for Australian of the Year [1]

Legal offices
Preceded by Catherine Branson QC	President of the Australian Human Rights Commission 2012–present	Incumbent