Joseph Santamaria

Joseph Santamaria
Judge of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria
In office
20 August 2013 – 14 July 2018
Personal details
BornJoseph Gerard Santamaria
(1948-07-14)14 July 1948
Died23 July 2026(2026-07-23) (aged 78)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
EducationUniversity of Melbourne, University of Oxford
OccupationJudge, lawyer, academic

Joseph Gerard Santamaria KC (14 July 1948 – 23 July 2026) was an Australian jurist and a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in August 2013 and retired in July 2018.[1] He was a Senior Fellow in the Juris Doctor programme at the Melbourne Law School.

Education and career

Santamaria attended St Patrick's College, East Melbourne. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws with honours from the University of Melbourne. He later attended University College, Oxford, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Letters.[1]

He was admitted to legal practice in 1973. In 1977, he took up a full-time position as an academic at Melbourne Law School. In 1978, he was called to the Victorian Bar and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1994.[1] He practised primarily in commercial law and equity. In August 2013, he joined the Court of Appeal, where he remained until his retirement in July 2018. He was a Senior Fellow in the Juris Doctor programme at the Melbourne Law School.[2]

Together with Ian Renard, Santamaria was the co-author of Takeovers and Reconstructions in Australia.[3] Between 1978 and 1990, Santamaria was a reporter for the Commonwealth Law Reports.

Personal life and death

Santamaria was a son of Australian political activist B. A. Santamaria.[4] He died at home in Melbourne, on 23 July 2026, at the age of 78.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Hon Justice Joseph Santamaria". Who's Who in Australia. Australian Associated Press. 2017.
  2. ↑ "Joseph Santamaria". Melbourne Law School. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  3. ↑ I Renard and J G Santamaria (1990). Takeovers and Reconstructions in Australia. LexisNexis Butterworths. ISBN 0000783714.
  4. ↑ Gerard Henderson: Santamaria: A Most Unusual Man: Melbourne: Miegunyah: 2015; ISBN 9780522868586
  5. ↑ "The Honourable Joseph Gerard Santamaria". The Times. 1 August 2026. Retrieved 1 August 2026.