New NSW Court of Appeal president named

Dr Andrew Bell SC has been named as the incoming president of the New South Wales Court of Appeal.

The prominent Sydney barrister will commence in the role on 28 February, when he will also be sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Court of the state.

“Dr Bell is one of the Sydney’s leading barristers, with 24 years at the bar. He has appeared in 30 High Court appeals, more than 80 appeals in the NSW and Western Australia Courts of Appeal, as well as appearances in the Full Court of the Federal Court,” said Attorney-General Mark Speakman. “Among the many accolades won by Dr Bell during his stellar career are his dual University Medals at Sydney University, his Rhodes Scholarship in 1990, his first place in the postgraduate Bachelor of Civil Law at Oxford University and his doctorate from Oxford. He took silk in 2006.”

Bell has twice been the chairman of Eleven Wenthworth, one of Australia's leading chambers in commercial and constitution law. He succeeds Margaret Beazley AO QC, who is set to become the 39th governor of NSW.

“Justice Beazley is a highly decorated Federal Court of Australia and NSW Court of Appeal judge whose legal career crosses four decades,” Speakman said. “She has been a trailblazer for female lawyers across the state as the first woman appointed to the bench of the Federal Court in 1993 and then to the Court of Appeal in 1996, where she continued to break records by becoming the first female president in 2013. She was the third woman to join the Supreme Court judiciary. I thank Justice Beazley for her outstanding contributions to the judiciary and congratulate her on becoming the new governor of NSW.”

Dr Andrew Bell SC