John Sackar
John Robertson Sackar is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Sackar is an Australian King's Counsel who has also appeared in the courts of London and Brunei. Retired from the bench in 2024, Sackar is now a mediator.
Education and early legal career
Sackar attended Sydney Boys High School and then Sydney University, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1972 after initially studying medicine. He would later go on to receive a Master of Laws from the same institution.Sackar was admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1973, beginning his legal career at Hickson Lakeman & Holcombe as an articled clerk under the guidance of David Kirby and Jim Poulos. Sackar then practised as a solicitor at Dawson Waldron.
Years as a barrister
Sackar was called to the New South Wales Bar in 1975 and appointed Queen's Counsel in 1987. He was a member of the Sixth Floor of Selborne Chambers in Phillip Street, Sydney for most of his time at the Bar. He specialized in defamation actions. Malcolm Turnbull, later to become an Australian Prime Ministe, read with Justice Sackar in his early years at the NSW Bar. Sackar was called to the Middle Temple in London during 2006, with chambers at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.Judicial appointment
Justice Sackar was appointed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in February 2011. He sits in the Equity Division of the Court and was its Expedition list Judge. In 2022-2023, Sakar led the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes, which was set up to "investigat unsolved suspected hate crime deaths of LGBTIQ people in NSW between 1970 and 2010". Sackar retired as a judge in February 2024.Personal life
Sackar is a passionate art collector and agriculturalist. He has three children from his first marriage, and one from his second.He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2025 Australia Day Honours, and, since 2019, served as President of the Arts Law Centre of Australia, a non-profit organisation.