An experienced silk and one of the most senior prosecutors in NSW will become resident judges of the ACT Supreme Court, with the new chief justice hailing their appointments as "outstanding".
Geoffrey Kennett SC, an expert in public law, will fill the vacancy created by last year's retirement of Justice John Burns when he begins his role on March 21.
Belinda Baker, a criminal appeals specialist, will take the place of the retiring Justice Michael Elkaim when she commences her tenure as a judge in December.
Mr Kennett is no stranger to the ACT, having worked in the public service in Canberra for 13 years before he moved to Sydney in 1998 and became a barrister in private practice.
He was appointed senior counsel in 2010, and has chaired the Law Council of Australia's administrative law committee since 2015.
Mr Kennett said on Friday he was thrilled to be returning to Canberra, where he had grown up.
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"I'm very excited to be joining a strong court with a very eminent chief justice, who I've known and admired for a long time," he told reporters at a press conference.
Ms Baker, a lawyer with more than 20 years of experience, is currently the deputy senior crown prosecutor for NSW.
She has appeared in more than 200 criminal appeals, including High Court cases, since 2016.
Ms Baker said she was honoured to be appointed to a court that was "an inspiration to courts in every Australian jurisdiction".
She added, in a statement, that she looked forward to working with the ACT's other judicial officers, singling out the newly sworn-in Chief Justice Lucy McCallum as "an inspiring jurist".
Chief Justice McCallum said Mr Kennett and Ms Baker were "known for their huge intellects, their astute legal analysis and their prodigious capacity for hard work".
"With our full complement of six judges, the court is well placed to take on the challenges ahead," she said.
ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury also praised Mr Kennett and Ms Baker, saying their appointments would "balance the skills across the court" and take it to "the next level".
The ACT Greens leader said recruiting a number of judges in a short space of time had enabled him to "look at our field and think about fulfilling the needs of the court".
Mr Rattenbury added that he had "no qualms" about the court's ability to stay in touch with the ACT community's specific needs, with the latest three appointees all being selected from interstate.
"Each of the the candidates has got a connection to Canberra and I'm confident they'll do well," he said.
The Attorney-General noted "long-term locals" Jane Campbell and Ken Archer had also just been appointed as a magistrate and dedicated coroner respectively.
"I feel we've struck a good balance in bringing new talent to the city and bringing high-quality people to our bench whilst, at the same time, maintaining a good connection to our city," Mr Rattenbury said.
The new Supreme Court appointees will join Chief Justice McCallum, Justice David Mossop and Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson as resident judges.
The other ongoing member of the court is Associate Justice Verity McWilliam, who has been acting in Justice Burns' old role since he left in August last year.
