Remarks of the Hon Marilyn Warren AC 

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria 

upon opening the inaugural Commercial Law Conference: 

Current Issues in Commercial Law 

Banco Court 

12 November 2009 

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Your Honours and ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon and 
welcome to everyone devoted to commercial litigation, especially 
here in Victoria. 

Why the topic: Current Issues in Commercial Law? Why a 
conference? And why here in Melbourne? 

The answers are short and simple. Melbourne is a centre for 
litigation excellence. Our litigators take pride in being up to date 
but moreso they take a leadership role on the national commercial 
stage. 

In Melbourne we provide a very high standard of commercial 
litigation through the services of our courts – state and federal – the 
Victorian Bar and the legal profession and academia, especially 
through the University of Melbourne Centre for Corporate Law and 
Securities Regulation. 


Independent research of the Bar reveals that over $700m per 
annum is contributed to the Victorian economy by litigation, 
especially commercial litigation. We have the Commercial Court in 
the Supreme Court, the Fast-Track system in the Federal Court and 
the Commercial List in the County Court. Our commercial courts 
are truly innovative and focused on serving the business 
community. 

The Victorian Bar and the legal profession operate nationally and 
internationally. They also offer dispute resolution mechanisms and 
facilities that ensure expeditious resolution of disputes. 

The built environment for commercial litigation in Melbourne is 
mostly superb. The facilities of the Federal and County Courts and 
parts of the Supreme Court are excellent. We anticipate that 
Melbourne will consolidate its litigation edge when a new Supreme 
Court building is constructed. 

I refer to my remarks in the Supreme Court annual report tabled in 
the Victorian Parliament this week (www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au). 
When the new Supreme Court building is built it will provide a 
national and international commercial icon. 

So we have the judges, the counsel and lawyers, the commercial 
litigation techniques and the proper built environment. We also 
have, exemplified by today’s conference and attendance, 


excellent interaction between the state and federal judiciary, the 
Bar, the profession and academia. 

The conference celebrates the intellectual commitment of 
Melbourne. It is a centre for commercial litigation excellence. 

I congratulate and thank the Hon. Justice Pagone and Professors 
Ramsay and O’Connell for their commitment and organisation of 
today. 

I formally open the conference. Let the interaction begin.