Zimbabwean former Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay and Australian Justice Michael Kirby have joined Freedom Under Law’s (FUL’s) international advisory board to fill the vacancies following the deaths of founding members Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Lord Johan van Zijl Steyn.

Both retired judges, Gubbay and Kirby are internationally regarded for being vocal on the rule of law, judicial independence and the protection of human rights.

“The lives of the two prominent Commonwealth judges have intersected in many ways. They were both strong proponents (with later Chief Justice Mahomed of South Africa) of the application of international rights instruments in domestic law, beginning with the Bangalore Principles and Harare Declaration. Both attended the ground-breaking Bloemfontein Colloquium in 1993 chaired by former Chief Justice Corbett, in which some senior South African judges and counsel also participated. Both have been recipients of the Gruber Prize for Justice, other decorations and honorary doctorates,” said FUL.

In 1959, two years after joining the Bar in Zimbabwe, Cambridge alum Gubbay defended 100 members of the African National Congress of Southern Rhodesia against detention without a trial. He headed up the Income Tax Appeal Tribunal and the Patents Tribunal before joining the High Court in Bulawayo and then the Appellate Division in Harare.

Post democracy, he held the Acting Chief Justice position for five terms before being appointed Chief Justice in 1990, where he presided over cases relating to human rights, such as freedom of speech, arbitrary arrests, decriminalising homosexuality and asserting land rights.

“In 2001 he was forced from office. The Supreme Court was allowed to be invaded, and he was threatened. He was replaced by a High Court judge, Godfrey Chidyausiku, who had served as a deputy minister, acting attorney-general and member of the Politburo of the ruling party. Gubbay has received wide international recognition. He is an Honorary Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn, a patron of the Association of Commonwealth Judges and Magistrates and was appointed to the Permanent Court of Arbitration,” FUL said.

Beginning as a barrister in industrial relations, Kirby was the president of the New South Wales Court of Appeal and first chair of the Australian Law Reform Commission. He was a judge of Australia’s highest court for 13 years, until 2009.

He is known notably for his judgments in the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights.

“FUL records its gratitude for the willingness of these eminent figures to contribute their moral leadership and wisdom,” said the nonprofit organisation.