Justice Michael Elkaim retires as ACT Supreme Court resident judge

Justice Michael Elkaim left on Friday after six-and-a-half years as a resident judge, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

He joined the court following what was described at a ceremonial sitting as "a long and distinguished legal career", which began with his studies in Rhodesia and the UK.

Justice Elkaim was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 1978, practising in London for two years before migrating to Australia and working as a barrister in NSW.

After being appointed senior counsel in 2002, he was made a NSW District Court judge in 2008.

Friday's ceremony heard that since moving to Canberra in 2016, he had published 576 judgments.

"Many were right," Chief Justice Lucy McCallum quipped.

To the surprise of those familiar with Justice Elkaim's work, he only wrote six of the Supreme Court's 56 judgments concerning Mooseheads or, as it was cryptically described, "a certain establishment".

As Chief Justice McCallum noted, this meant the frequent critic of the Civic nightclub's connection with crime had done just 10 per cent of the court's work on the venue despite forming 20 per cent of its contingent of resident judges.

"I'm not upset about that," she said. "I'm just disappointed."

Justice Elkaim's efficiency, intellect, courtesy and wit were common threads of speeches by ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury, Bar Association boss Rebecca Curran and Law Society president Farzana Choudhury, who joked they would do their best to imitate his "brief and funny" approach to his work.

Amid laughter at anecdotes about things like the Coffee Purchasing Act - a set of rules for associates tasked with bringing the judge a warm drink - Justice Elkaim reserved room in his speech for some serious remarks.

He praised Mr Rattenbury, who had "defended this court when it has been under attack" over perceptions of inadequate sentencing, and thanked former chief justice Helen Murrell for advising him to "wear my leniency as a badge of honour".

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Justice Elkaim said he had simply strived to be fair, even if that disappointed the prosecutors whose regular appeals gave the impression "almost every sentence I have imposed has not been long enough".

Well known for smirking before delivering a carefully crafted joke, such as when he advised a lawyer who confessed they could not "pull a rabbit out of the hat" to venture to City Hill, the legal community saw a different side of Justice Elkaim on Friday as he emotionally thanked his family for their support.

He will now move back to Sydney, confessing he will miss "no traffic, some people and easy access to exercise".

"Goodbye and good luck," the retiring judge concluded. "It's been an absolute buzz."

Justice Elkaim's replacement, Justice Belinda Baker, has already started her new role.

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