Former chief justice Robert French backs stand against Dyson Heydon

Robert French said he wasn’t aware of concerns about Dyson Heydon but sexual harassment couldn’t be tolerated in the legal profession.

Robert French, former Chief Justice of Australia. Picture: Marie Nirme.

Former High Court chief justice Robert French has endorsed the stand taken by the court’s serving head, Chief Justice Susan Kiefel, in speaking out against former colleague Dyson Heydon in the wake of an inquiry that found he had sexually harassed six female associates during his decade on the bench.

Mr French, now chancellor of the University of Western Australia, said he had not been aware of any concerns about Mr Heydon’s behaviour but sexual harassment could not be tolerated in the legal profession.

As chief justice from 2008 to 2017, Mr French led the court during a period of five of the years when Mr Heydon was also a High Court judge.

Asked by The Australian if any complaints had been made while he presided over the court, or if he had been aware of concerns about Mr Dyson’s behaviour, Mr French said: “No”.

“I don’t want to comment further other than to say I endorse the approach that Chief Justice Kiefel has taken and join in her comments,” he said.

Chief Justice Kiefel said in a statement on Monday that the findings were of “extreme concern” to her, her fellow judges, the chief executive and High Court staff.

“We’re ashamed that this could have happened at the High Court of Australia,” she said. “We have made a sincere apology to the six women whose complaints were borne out. We know it would have been difficult to come forward. Their accounts of their experiences at the time have been believed.”

Justice Kiefel also accepted all of the recommendations of a workplace review, including a new human relations policy for judges’ personal staff and the appointing of a supervisor and direct support person for the court’s associates.

Mr French said sexual harassment was “obviously not” behaviour that could be tolerated in the legal profession.

“I think obviously, as the president of the Law Council of Australia has said, it’s an ongoing issue that the legal profession has to address,” he said. “It’s become more aware of it in recent years with various surveys that have been carried out. It’s obviously an ongoing problem that has to be addressed seriously.”

Mr French said chief judges had limited powers to deal with bad behaviour by judges.

“I think there’s always been an issue with the federal judiciary – there’s kind of a nuclear option, which is removal, and other than that there are no direct disciplinary powers,” he said.

Mr French said he did not wish to wade into the debate on whether a judicial commission was desirable, as that was a political matter.

He said there were “plenty of arguments on either side” and it could raise constitutional issues.

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