In 1969, at the age of 22, French contested the safe Labor Federal seat of Fremantle for the Liberal Party, which he lost to Kim Beazley, Sr.[8] He later said: "Fortunately I lost. I do not think I would have made a very good politician... It was an enjoyable learning experience. It involved the kind of valuable interaction with people whom I would never normally have encountered. That has served me well in later life."[9] He is a close friend of Kim Beazley, Jr.[1]
In 1972, French was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in Western Australia.[4][1] He worked on important cases, such as the High Court case, Yager v The Queen,[10] which focused on complex matters of law and botanical science.[11]
The Hawke government appointed French to the Federal Court in 1986, at the age of 39.[12]
During the Tampa Affair in 2001, French was part of the Full Court of the Federal Court that reversed the order of habeas corpus that had been earlier granted by a single judge.[13]
Chief Justice French (right) swearing in Governor–General Peter Cosgrove in March 2014.
French retired as Chief Justice on 29 January 2017. He was succeeded by Susan Kiefel.[18]
He has served as an international commercial court judge on the DIFC Courts in Dubai.[19]
Other roles
French held a number of other positions during his time as Chief Justice, notably serving as chancellor of Edith Cowan University (1991–1997), chairman of the National Native Title Tribunal (1994–1998), and on the Supreme Court of Fiji (2003–2008).[1] After his retirement from the position, on 20 June 2017, UWA announced French's appointment as its 15th chancellor. He succeeded Michael Chaney AO as chancellor in November 2017.[20][21] He is due to end his term at the end of 2024.[22]
Although once the President of the Liberal Club of the University of Western Australia, French's views are described as being closer to socially progressive,[23]small–l liberal,[24] and moderate.[25]
On republicanism
French said in a WA Law Society speech in May 2008:[1]
"It is unacceptable in contemporary Australia that the legal head of the Australian state... can never be chosen by the people or their representatives, cannot be other than a member of the Anglican Church, can never be other than British and can never be an indigenous person."
On Indigenous issues
Justice French is known for working for the rights of Indigenous Australians: in the early 1970s, he helped found the WA Aboriginal Legal Service.[1] He was also the first president of the National Native Title Tribunal, from 1994 to 1998.[21]
Recognition of their presence is no mere platitude. The history of Australia's Indigenous people dwarfs, in its temporal sweep, the history that gave rise to the Constitution under which this court was created. Our awareness and recognition of that history is becoming, if it has not already become, part of our national identity.[26]
However, the "French Testing" incident has coloured the legacy of French on Indigenous issues. French admitted his "error" when he explained the incident:[27]
As I soon discovered, the responsibilities of an administrator trying to develop procedures to implement a legal process are very different from those of a judge required to decide a particular case about whether an administrator's decision is legally flawed. The Tribunal was judicially reviewed on many occasions. The high point or low point, depending on your point of view, occurred after I had refused registration of a claim by the Waanyi people over land the subject of the proposed Century Zinc mine in North Queensland. I refused registration on the basis that the application could not succeed because of the extinguishing effects of historical pastoral leases in the area. I took the view that observations about the extinguishing effects of leases made by Brennan J in Mabo put the matter beyond doubt. My refusal to register the claim was an administrative act in the application of a test designed to screen out hopeless claims. The decision was overturned by the High Court in North Ganalanja[2] with such moral enthusiasm that the Court gave judgment immediately and reasons later. In so doing, it described my approach as "tantamount to a proleptic exercise of federal jurisdiction". To add insult to injury, members of the Waanyi people were sitting in Court wearing T-shirts with the message "Ban French Testing". I have no doubt, in retrospect, that I was properly found to have been in error. The considerations influencing my approach were those of the administrator, the urgent need to get the process moving and to establish its credibility in the face of ongoing attacks. There was a legal bottleneck on the issue of the relationship between pastoral leases and native title which was not resolved until the decision in Wik. Many ill-prepared applications were being lodged and upon registration were entitled to procedural rights affecting third party interests particularly in relation to mining and the release of Crown land for development around regional centres. I learned a useful lesson from all of this and that is that the worldview and culture of the administrator which I had adopted is very different from that of the courts.
On the 2023 Voice referendum
In an address at the National Press Club on 5 October 2023, French spoke in favour of establishing the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, ahead of the referendum on the matter. He criticised the No campaign's slogan, "if you don't know, vote no", as well as some of their main arguments against the Voice, including their argument that it posed a legal risk, dismissing this as "misguided".[28][29][30] French also observed that the Voice would instead “provide a new impetus and new mechanism to address the generational effects of the collision of our histories” and will do so by providing an opportunity for “coordinated, national advice from a First People’s body”.[31]
Centenary Medal, 2001, for service as President of the National Native Title Tribunal and as a Federal Court judge[32]
Companion of the Order of Australia, 2010, for eminent service to the law and to the judiciary, to legal education and administration in the areas of constitutional, competition and native title law, and to legal reform.[33]
French married Valerie J. French, who completed her LL.B. at UWA in 1971 and has served as the president of the Children's Court of Western Australia.[6][35]
