In providing the address to open the 2026 law term, NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell reflected on how “the state of the profession, the courts, the rule of law and areas of common interest and concern” had progressed over 2025, and in doing so, he recalled the concerns he’d had in respect of the rule of law in the United States last year, have only increased over the last 12 months.
The NSW Chief Justice presented the Law Society of NSW opening of the law term address at ILUMINA in Sydney’s Martin Place on 2 February 2026.
Bell turned to the Bondi massacre, as it demands a primary focus in reflecting on 2025, since it has “shattered” the “relatively stable and peaceful world” in Sydney. The Chief Justice then raised the Christchurch mass murder that involved an Australian firing upon Muslims in two mosques, and he considered that like the New Zealand investigation, the official inquiry here, will raise social cohesion.
To progress social cohesion, according to Bell, “meaningful social, human interaction” is necessitated, and not the retreating into cocoons that occurred over the COVID period and beyond. The judge explained that in this effort, he and the NSW Court of Appeal president had commenced the year by attending “a range of religious services” in multifaith Greater Sydney in aid of social cohesion.
The top judge further noted that lawyers from these various religious communities “have taken leadership roles within the profession, thereby contributing to social cohesion which we must all work hard to promote”.
In returning to his intended focus, the 2025 legal year, he noted that the NSW Supreme Court remains the biggest in the country, and that this has only been exacerbated over the last 5 years by a 20 percent increase in the number of bail applications being considered, which has been heightened by shifts towards presumption against bail and additional restrictions for domestic violence cases.
Difficult decisions, ignorantly perceived
The increases in bail applications involves 2,235 applications dealt with over 2022 rising to 3,124 in 2024 and then onto almost 2,900 last year, explained Bell. And he stressed that each application, of which judges are completing six or seven a day, involve the judicial officer being required to address 22 bail concerns, under the provisions of section 17 of the Bail Act 2013 (NSW).
Difficult decisions over 2025 weren’t just confined to bail, however. NSW Supreme Court justices were required to make complex risk assessments in regard to the Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW), when authorities questioned the validity of proposed public protests. And an example of this, Bell raised Justice Belinda Rigg greenlighting the Sydney Harbour Bridge march for Palestine.
Yet, following Rigg’s determination, Bell recalled, former Australian PM Tony Abbott posted a message asserting it should not be up to a judge to decide the fate of political protests. Bell countered this as “misconceived in a number of respects”.
Bell provided four reasons why Abbot was wrong. Firstly, the question Rigg deliberated upon was not whether “a political protest was justified” and the statutory framework makes this clear. The judge didn’t close the bridge either, as that was NSW authorities. NSW parliament had provided that the courts make such decisions, and further, the judge made a legal decision, not a political one.
“While judicial decisions on subjects such as bail and public assemblies should not be free from scrutiny or criticism where justified,” the NSW Chief Justice insisted, “social cohesion to which I have already referred is not enhanced when judicial decisions are attacked on bases and in terms that betray an ignorance of the statutory framework” and a judge’s “reasoning processes”.
Comments like Abbott’s, according to Bell, are the type of misinformation that seeks to undermine the judiciary. Further, the last 18 months have seen two NSW judges receive death threats over particular decisions and this sort of judicial abuse in respect of decisions has been occurring in the UK as well.
The onset of AI in the courts
The NSW Chief Justice then turned to the subject of his November 2024 released Supreme Court Practice Note SC Gen 23 – Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence, which considers how legal professionals should approach artificial intelligence and legal work. Bell advised that this document had been the subject of at least five addresses that he has given over 2025.
The issue Bell has identified is that AI systems suffer from hallucinations, or they produce false information and present it as truth. This was highlighted recently when an Australian Department of Employment and Workplace Relations report was published, and it included AI-generated court references to false cases and a fake quote attributed to a Federal Court judge.
“Australia has the third-highest number of instances on the Charlotin AI Hallucinations Database of reported fabricated or nonexistent references, citations and quotations in court and tribunal decisions,” the NSW Chief Justice advised. “As at the time of preparing this speech, some 55 cases had been identified in Australia.”
The onset of AI is occurring at such a pace that it is outstripping the human ability to check that it is producing correct information.
And in light of how the influence of AI has been proceeding over the last 12 months, Bell said the practice note is about to be reissued again, without many changes and including the stipulations that witness statements cannot be produced via the technology, and if AI is used in the generation of submissions, all court references must be double checked by lawyers.
On practical legal training
Bell also turned to a key focus of his last opening address, which was practical legal training. PLT is training law graduates are required to take after graduating and it is skills-based. The Chief Justice last year reflected on PLT costs, however there has also been the establishment of a working group over the last 12 months, and it was charged with considering whether PLT is fit for purpose.
The work that was done in this regard over 2025, included a detailed survey report, focus groups, consultations with law schools, a discussion paper on PLT reform, the development of a core competency document and PLT pilot modules. This work is ongoing, while some reforms have already been made to the training.
There are three areas where meaningful change is sought in respect of PLT. The first is the way in which law is taught at universities, in terms of “the teaching of foundational practical legal skills”. The second is a focus on PLT being shaped for the 21st century and finally, PLT shouldn’t end with lawyer admission, but it is something that should be returned to throughout a lawyer’s career.
The year ahead
NSW Chief Justice Bell added that this month marks the fourth anniversary of his appointment to the role of top judge. This has been a period of great transition, which has included the addition of 25 new judges. And he noted that Sydney’s Downing Centre courthouse, which closed due to flood damage for the second half of 2025, recently reopened.
“On that cheery note,” the NSW Chief Justice said in ending his address to the legal profession, “I wish you all well for 2026 and strongly encourage you to take pride in our profession and engage with younger lawyers with a view to instilling in them not only strong professional and ethical values but also the importance of them assuming leadership roles in their communities.”
