Chris Kourakis

Christopher John Kourakis (born 17 June 1958) is a Greek Australian lawyer and judge. Since 2012 he has been Chief Justice of South Australia.

The Honourable Chris Kourakis
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 June 2012
Preceded by	John Doyle
Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 August 2008
Preceded by	Bruce Debelle
Solicitor-General of South Australia
In office 3 February 2003 – 2008
Preceded by	Bradley Selway QC
Succeeded by	Martin Hinton QC
Personal details
Born	Christopher John Kourakis (1958-06-17) 17 June 1958 (age 66) Port Lincoln, South Australia

Early life and education

Kourakis was born on 17 June 1958^[1] grew up in Port Lincoln as one of ten children^[2] of Greek migrants Evangelos and Roxani Kourakis.^[1] His parents originated from the Greek island of Ikaria.^[3]

He was educated at the University of Adelaide.^[1]

Career

Kourakis practised at the Independent Bar in South Australia from 1989 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1997. He was President of the Law Society of South Australia from 2001. In 2003 he was appointed as the Solicitor-General of South Australia.^[1][4][5]

When the South Australian government decided to cease appointing Queen's Counsel and the Chief Justice of South Australia began appointing Senior Counsel, Kourakis resigned his commission as Queen's Counsel to become Senior Counsel instead.^{[when?][citation needed]}

In 2008, Kourakis was appointed to the Supreme Court of South Australia and in 2012, he was elevated to the position of Chief Justice.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2022, he overturned a decision by the former Premier of South Australia, Steven Marshall, to allow for exploratory mining to go ahead on Lake Torrens, citing concerns that Kelaray's heritage plan and procedures would "substantially detract" from the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988.^[6][7] In May 2023, the Premier's decision was reinstated by the Court of Appeal of South Australia.^[8]

In February 2023, together with Attorney-General of South Australia Kyam Maher, Kourakis announced several new appointments to the SA judicial system. Among the appointees were the first two Aboriginal Australians to be appointed to the Magistrates Court of South Australia, Lana Chester and Natalie Brown.^[9]