About Robert Marsden Hope
Robert Marsden Hope, (24 July 1919 – 12 October 1999) was a Justice of the New South Wales Court of Appeal and Royal Commissioner on three occasions, most notably the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security. As a judge Hope was known for his legal positivism and as a royal commissioner he "instilled a sense of impartiality". == Career == Justice Hope received his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney before being called to the New South Wales Bar on 26 October 1945. During his time at university he had attempted to join the Communist Party of Australia but due to "administrative incompetence" he had failed to do so. By his own admission in 1998, the 1960s had brought Hope considerable professional success owing to his strategic decision to join the Liberal Party of Australia. Hope was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1960. He became President of the NSW Council of Civil Liberties "but within weeks" he was then appointed Justice of the New South Wales Supreme Court. Hope was finally made a Justice of Appeal of the Supreme Court, the highest court in the New South Wales judiciary system in 1972, a position he held until his retirement in 1989. He also acknowledged that on two occasions he had allowed himself to be pressured by President Athol Moffitt into reaching decisions "he would have otherwise not made". Justice Hope was appointed to the Australian Council for the Arts in 1974 and awarded the honour of Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1977.
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