ICJ bench would cap off stellar year for James Crawford

JAMES Crawford is on a roll.

JAMES Crawford is on a roll. The Cambridge-based Australian was awarded this country's top honour on Monday when he became a Companion of the Order of Australia. And it looks like his nomination for the bench of the International Court of Justice is all but in the bag.

There are two vacancies coming up on the court and Crawford is one of the two candidates. The other is US judge Joan Donoghue.

Positions on the court require a majority vote at the UN and that vote is due to take place late next year.

For years now, Crawford has been arguing Australia's case before international tribunals. Now it's Australia's turn to return the favour.

Bob Carr's diplomats have been making the case for Crawford with most of the countries that will vote next year.

A spokesman for the Foreign Minister says he is "quietly confident" that an Australian is about to win a place on this highly influential bench.

"Professor Crawford is an extremely impressive candidate," Carr says.

"I think Australians should be proud that we're supporting someone of his legal eminence for this position.

"If elected, he'd make an invaluable contribution to the International Court of Justice and to the international legal community.

"We're actively promoting his candidacy and we're expecting he'll receive strong support."

Only one other Australian has ever served on the ICJ - Percy Spender. He joined the court in 1958 and was president from 1964 until his retirement from the bench in 1967.

The ICJ has a total of 15 judges who are elected by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council. They serve terms of nine years.

It is possible that a third candidate could still emerge. But with every day that passes, Crawford's chances of joining the ICJ look stronger.

Thinking globally

DARREN Gardner's career path is the perfect example of how lawyers can benefit from the globalisation of legal services.

When Phil Clark was running Minter Ellison, he asked Gardner to move from the firm's Sydney office to establish an outpost in New York.

While in the US, Gardner got to know Stephen Poor, who is chairman and managing partner of Seyfarth Shaw. Eventually, Gardner accepted Poor's offer to become international chairman of the US firm and is now leading its entry to the Australian market.

The arrival of foreign firms like Seyfarth Shaw is a welcome development.

It might cause a little apprehension at those firms that are about to face increased competition, but over time, a deeper market for legal services will increase the choices open to lawyers, clients and law firms. That must be a good thing.