Raelene Sharp (barrister)

Raelene Sharp
KC
Portrait of a woman with her arms folded, directly facing front. She is wearing spectacles and a dark, pin-striped jacket over a white top. She has short, grey hair.
9th Director of the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 December 2023 (2023-12-04)
Nominated byThe Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Attorney-General of Australia
Preceded byThe Hon Justice Sarah McNaughton SC
Career
Personal details
Education
  • LL.M. (Public International Law: International Criminal Law)
  • BA (Linguistics), LL.B
Alma mater
ProfessionBarrister

Raelene Sharp KC is an Australian barrister. She was appointed as the Director of Public Prosecutions in December 2023.[1] The Director is the head of the Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Sharp's diverse work has seen her advise and act in domestic and international investigative, regulatory and criminal matters, including in Lebanon for the United Nations.[2]

Sharp's formal qualifications include degrees from Monash University,[3] the University of Melbourne[4] and Leiden University.[5] Sharp completed her articles at the Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions in 2000.[6]

Sharp was called to the Victorian Bar in 2010, reading with Mark Rochford KC and now Justice of Appeal Stephen Donaghue.[7] Sharp has been awarded an Indictable Crime Certificate[8] and was appointed senior counsel ("took Silk") in 2022, with letters-patent for King's counsel the following year.[9]

Education

Sharp earned an (Honours) Arts degree in linguistics from Monash University in 1998.[10] She has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Laws in public international law – international criminal law (cum laude) from Leiden University.[4][11]

Career

Sharp "has over 25 years of experience in both domestic and international legal domains,"[12] specialising in criminal law, investigative law and administrative law. After completing her articles, Sharp moved to the Netherlands to further her legal education.[12]

Sharp's career began as a prosecutor at the state Director of Public Prosecutions (Victoria) (DPP). After two years, Sharp moved to the Netherlands to complete a Master's in public international law, specialising in international criminal law.[11]

Sharp was a research assistant to Professor John Dugard, the former Special Rapporteur to the UN Commission on Human Rights on violation of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. In the "International Law Commission Annual Report (2003)" the Special Rapporteur John Dugard "acknowledged, with gratitude" the work undertaken by Sharp on the report into the "Diplomatic protection of corporations and shareholders".[13]

Sharp returned to Melbourne and the OPP for a short time before moving to the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) in 2004.[14] From 2006 until 2009, Sharp was legal officer at the United Nations in Lebanon, working on the investigation into the assassination of Rafic Hariri, the former prime minister, and a number of other related assassinations under the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.[10] Upon her return to Australia in 2009 she resumed her work at the Victoria DPP for a short time, before moving to the ACC.[a] The ACC appointed her their principal specialist lawyer in 2005.[15][16]

Sharp was asked to return to the Middle East as a Special Rapporteur and a member of an independent fact-finding commission, instituted by the Arab League, looking into Israel's Gaza War "Operation Cast Lead", under the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The investigation focused on the Israeli operation in December and January 2009.[17]

Barrister & Taking Silk

Sharp was called to the Victorian Bar in 2010, reading with Mark Rochford KC and now Justice of Appeal Stephen Donaghue.[18] Peter Hanks KC was her senior mentor.

Described as the "ultimate prize for most barristers",[19] "taking silk" and obtaining the "coveted"[20] title Kings Counsel/Senior Counsel is an extremely detailed and rigorous process. The Victorian Bar says it involves the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria,[21] the Chief Justice[22] Anne Ferguson,[23] consulted the heads of over 15 national and state judicial bodies to determine "whether a legal professional whose skill, integrity, independence, and standing in the profession justify an expectation on the part of the public and the judiciary that they will provide outstanding services, as counsel, to the administration of justice".[21][24]

Special Investigator

Sharp also worked at the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI) – under former CDPP and criminal law guru Mark Weinberg KC. Sharp worked as counsel assisting the Special Investigator appointed to investigate possible breaches of the laws of armed conflict allegedly committed by members of the Australian Defence Force in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2016.[25]

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "Appointment of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions". Mark Dreyfus MP. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ↑ "Women in Government Conference" (PDF). Victorian Women Lawyers. 12 June 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Monash University [@monashlaw]; (16 November 2023). "Ms Sharp completed her Bachelor of Laws at Monash University between 1996 and 1998". Retrieved 13 December 2024 – via Instagram.
  4. 1 2 Dreyfus, Mark (14 November 2023). "Appointment of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions". Attorney-General's Portfolio. Archived from the original on 19 October 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  5. ↑ "Biographies – Keynote Speeches" (PDF). eventact. 9 May 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  6. ↑ "New Commonweath DPP announced – 15 Nov 2023". Headnote. 14 November 2023. Archived from the original on 24 October 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  7. ↑ Coade, Melissa (14 November 2023). "Ex-mandarin Raelene Sharp to be appointed Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions". The Mandarin. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "Victorian barrister appointed as new Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions". Australasian Lawyer. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  9. ↑ "Victorian Bar Welcomes Appointment 23 New Senior Counsel". Victorian Bar. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  10. 1 2 "Director". Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Archived from the original on 14 October 2024.
  11. 1 2 "(IAP) Conference Keynote Speakers KEYNOTE CLOSING SPEAKER: Raelene Sharp KC, Director of Public Prosecutions, Commonwealth, Australia" (PDF). International Association of Prosecutors. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  12. 1 2 Director of Public Prosecutions, Commonwealth (4 December 2023). "Director". Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
  13. ↑ Duggan, John (6 June 2003). "Yearbook International Law Commission: 2003 Session". United Nations International Law Commission. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  14. ↑ Dreyfus, Mark (14 November 2023). "New Director appointed" (Press release). Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Archived from the original on 14 October 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  15. ↑ Parliamentary Joint Statutory Committee on the Australian Crime Commission (June 2004) [Tabled 24 August 2005]. Inquiry into Trafficking of Women for Sexual Servitude (Report). p. 5. ISBN 0-642-71405-3. Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  16. ↑ "Government responses to committee reports—2006". 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 23 July 2024.
  17. ↑ Moussa, Amre (12 May 2009). "Letter dated 12 May 2009 from the Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States addressed to the President of the Security Council". Report of the Independent Fact-Finding Committee On Gaza (PDF) (Report). United Nations Security Council. p. 2. (S/2009/244). Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  18. ↑ Coade, Melissa (14 November 2023). "Ex-mandarin Raelene Sharp to be appointed Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions". The Mandarin. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  19. ↑ "How top barristers snare silk". Australian Financial Review. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  20. ↑ "26 New Senior Counsel Appointed in NSW: Including the First Aboriginal | NSW Courts". NSW Courts | New South Wales Courts. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  21. 1 2 "Summary of Process | SCV Silk". silk.supcourt.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  22. ↑ "Retirement of Chief Justice of Victoria".
  23. ↑ "Announcement of the retirement of the Chief Justice of Victoria". The Supreme Court of Victoria. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  24. ↑ Kahn, Mohammad (25 July 2023). "King's Counsel, Queen's Counsel, and Senior Counsel in Australia". Lyons Law Group. Archived from the original on 15 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  25. ↑ "Protection for judges, but no tax relief". Australian Financial Review. 15 November 2023. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.

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