This Friday will mark the first ever International Day for Judicial Well-being, an initiative approved by the United Nations General Assembly in March, with the support of 160 nations, including Australia.

The idea emerged from the Regional Conference on Integrity and Judicial Well-being almost a year ago to the day in Nauru, with a declaration recognising that:

Judicial well-being is essential for individual judges’ occupational health and sustainability, for court users’ experience in court, for the quality of justice and ultimately for public confidence in the courts.

Justice Rangajeeva Wimalasena, President of the Nauru Court of Appeal steered the drafting of that declaration, acknowledging that “judicial burnout can lead to compromised decision-making, delays in justice and a weakened judiciary, ultimately affecting society, the economy and overall social sustainability.”

Solicitors’ duties to the Court and to our clients compel our active support of an effective justice system. One element of this is the promotion of a healthy judiciary, partnering, where we can, with all tiers of our profession in prioritising legal professional well-being.

Very nearly all judicial officers start their legal careers as solicitors. I encourage solicitors who nurture an ambition to serve as a judge or magistrate to invest in their well-being, to establish healthy practices that will endure through all career stages.

As members will be aware, I place such importance on building our mental health and well-being that I have made it one of my President’s Priorities for this term. The Law Society of NSW continues to deliver well-being initiatives for the benefit of the profession.

That includes our popular Staying Well in the Law series. This Wednesday, our Wellbeing Manager Anna Fischer will explore moral injury and its impact on solicitors. Much of the law is dedicated to preventing and remedying serious harms, so moral injury can be part and parcel of many solicitors' daily lives.

Likewise, those who’ve risen to the bench must deal not only with the confronting details of cases before them, but also with high caseloads. Chief Justice of NSW Andrew Bell told the Opening of Law Dinner in 2024, that NSW’s judicial officers were “overstretched, both in terms of numbers and resourcing” and that “the pool of their undoubted goodwill and physical and emotional capacity is not infinitely deep.”

I’m encouraged by the International Community’s embrace of the importance of judicial well-being through the establishment of this International Day.

As Nauru’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the Hon Lionel Aingimea MP said when introducing the resolution to the General Assembly, “the well-being of judicial officers is fundamental to upholding the rule of law, judicial integrity and the fair administration of justice worldwide.”

Jennifer Ball, President, Law Society of NSW