Chief Justice takes aim at anti-Semitism, misinformation and Elon Musk in Opening of Law Term address

Speaking at the Law Society’s Opening of Law Term Dinner in Sydney, Bell acknowledged that events here and abroad had generated “great disquiet and anxiety about the state of society and the rule of law …”

2025 Law Society President Jennifer Ball also addressed the occasion, outlining her priorities for the profession, which she said were underpinned by trust.

In his address, the Chief Justice condemned the “distressing and terrifying” rise of anti-Semitic incidents, labelling the attacks “despicable and totally unacceptable”.

“I offer my strong support to those practitioners of Jewish faith at this time and indeed to those of all faiths and ethnic and racial groups who make up our community and profession.”

“The brazen resurgence of anti-Semitism is a potent reminder that the lessons of history cannot and must not be forgotten,” he said.

Misinformation unregulated

In a broad ranging address, the Chief Justice said, “misinformation and disinformation is propagated and largely left unregulated (on technology platforms), swamping or obscuring historical truths.”

Reserving some of his most forceful criticism for Tesla Chief Executive and X owner Elon Musk, Bell said Musk appeared to exercise “substantial but unaccountable political power” in the United States.

Bell condemned Musk’s endorsement of a far-right political party in Germany and “flippant puns” referring to figures from Nazi Germany.

Potential and risk of Gen AI

In relation to Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI), the Chief Justice acknowledged its “great potential” but said his approach was “deliberately cautious and conservative”.

“[O]pen sourced large language models generate answers to questions by drawing on … underlying data bases typically without any filter to discriminate between historically accurate and inaccurate data.”

Presidential pardons

Venturing to the realm of US politics, Bell noted pardons issued by the former and current Presidents of the United States. In relation to President Donald Trump’s use of pardoning power for the January 6 rioters and Ross William Ulbricht (Silk Road dark web founder), Bell observed “there can be no doubt that its exercise in these cases does and has gravely undermined the rule of law in the United States”.

The January 6 pardons were relevant to Australia, the Chief Justice explained, because of the increasing issue posed by the sovereign citizen movement here. “[S]uch pardons lend encouragement to those who are inclined to take the law into their own hands or take the view that they may freely operate outside of the law …”

Bell urged lawyers to speak out against serious risks to the rule of law, saying they cannot only speak about the concept in an abstract way. “The rule of law is too important and what it means and why it is important is powerfully illustrated by practical examples of its being undermined …”

Earlier, after outlining some of her personal and professional background, Jennifer Ball detailed her President’s Priorities for 2025.

• To honour and highlight solicitors’ service and positive contributions they make to their communities.
• To support NSW law practices to navigate regulatory hurdles and maintain a viable legal profession.
• To provide high quality professional career support and guidance to the profession, and
• To continue the focus on the mental health and wellbeing of the legal profession.

Ball said all four ideas were underpinned by trust, in lawyers, in protecting the rights and interests of clients and in acting in accordance with the high standards and ethics of the legal profession. Ball said there also needs to be trust that the personal and professional challenges of being a lawyer are addressed.

She warned that none of this was automatic.

“[W]e must continue to always work, to build trust, to maintain it with clients, the community, and within the profession.”