The Chief Justice of Victoria is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria

Supreme Court of Victoria

The Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited jurisdiction within the state...

 and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n state of Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court as well as the administrative head. He or she is responsible for arranging the business of the court and establishing its rules and procedures.

The current Chief Justice is Marilyn Warren

Marilyn Warren

Marilyn Louise Warren AC, QC is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria and Lieutenant Governor of Victoria.- Early life :...

, who was appointed by Governor John Landy

John Landy

John Michael Landy, AC, CVO, MBE is an Australian former Olympic track athlete. He was the second man to break the four-minute mile barrier in the mile run, and he held the world records for the 1500 metre run and the mile race...

 to succeed John Harber Phillips

John Harber Phillips

John Harber Phillips, AC, QC was an Australian barrister and an author. He was a judge and also a Chief Justice of Victoria. He was the legal counsel who defended Lindy Chamberlain on a charge of murdering her baby Azaria. His skills as counsel were described as being that of a "very elegant...

. Warren's term began on 26 November 2003.

List of Chief Justices of Victoria

Name	Term as Chief Justice
William à Beckett William à Beckett Sir William à Beckett was a British barrister and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.-Background:Born in London, he was the eldest son of William à Beckett, also a solicitor...	19 January 1852 – 20 February 1857
William Foster Stawell William Foster Stawell Sir William Foster Stawell KCMG was a British colonial statesman and a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia.-Early life:...	25 February 1857 – 24 September 1886
George Higinbotham George Higinbotham George Higinbotham was a politician and was a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Victoria.-Early life:...	24 September 1886 – 31 December 1892
John Madden John Madden (jurist) Sir John Madden GCMG , Irish-Australian jurist and politician, was the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria....	9 January 1893 – 10 March 1918
William Irvine William Irvine (Australian politician) Sir William Hill Irvine GCMG , Australian politician and judge, was the 21st Premier of Victoria. Irvine was born in Newry in County Down, Ireland, into a Scottish-Presbyterian family...	9 April 1918 – 30 September 1935
Frederick Mann Frederick Mann Sir Frederick Wollaston Mann KCMG was the chief justice of the Australian state of Victoria between 1 October 1935 and 31 January 1944. He was also Victoria’s lieutenant governor between 12 May 1936 and May 1945. Mann was nicknamed the “Little Gentleman” because of his height and he was...	1 October 1935 – 31 January 1944
Edmund Herring Edmund Herring Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, KCMG, KBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ED, QC was an Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.A Rhodes scholar, Herring was at New College, Oxford, when the First World...	2 February 1944 – 1 September 1964
Henry Winneke Henry Winneke Sir Henry Arthur Winneke AC, KCMG, KCVO, OBE, KStJ, QC was a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria and Governor of Victoria.- Early life and career :...	2 September 1964 – 31 May 1974
John McIntosh Young John Young (jurist) Sir John McIntosh Young AC KCMG was an Australian jurist. He was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria 1974-91, the Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria 1974-95, and the Chief Scout of Australia 1989-96....	1 June 1974 – 16 December 1991
John Harber Phillips John Harber Phillips John Harber Phillips, AC, QC was an Australian barrister and an author. He was a judge and also a Chief Justice of Victoria. He was the legal counsel who defended Lindy Chamberlain on a charge of murdering her baby Azaria. His skills as counsel were described as being that of a "very elegant...	17 December 1991 – 17 October 2003
Marilyn Warren Marilyn Warren Marilyn Louise Warren AC, QC is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria and Lieutenant Governor of Victoria.- Early life :...	26 November 2003 - present