Official Launch of the Warren Centre for Civil Justice
For more than a decade, the Australian Centre for Justice Innovation (ACJI) lead by Associate Professor Genevieve Grant has contributed to strengthening Australia’s justice systems through rigorous research, evaluation, and collaboration. Established within Monash Law in 2011, ACJI built a strong reputation for improving justice processes, advancing non‑adversarial approaches, and helping community members, practitioners, courts and agencies understand how people experience justice systems. As the Centre has grown, so too has the breadth of its work.
In 2026, the Centre will become the Warren Centre for Civil Justice, honouring the distinguished contribution of Professor the Honourable Marilyn Warren AC KC, former Chief Justice of Victoria. Professor Warren’s long‑standing commitment to fairness, accessibility, and the proper functioning of civil courts has had a transformative influence on our civil justice landscape.
The Warren Centre for Civil Justice will continue ACJI’s legacy of high-quality, independent, evidence‑based research, and advance this vital work through research that not only informs policy, but improves people’s real‑world experiences of justice. The Centre will also serve as a national hub for collaboration, for researchers, courts, government agencies, legal practitioners, and community organisations to work on shared civil justice challenges.
The official launch of the Warren Centre for Civil Justice will bring members of the profession together to celebrate this next chapter and mark the extraordinary legacy of Professor the Honourable Marilyn Warren AC KC. Guests will hear about the Centre’s new identity and research themes, which reflect its commitment to advancing civil justice through innovation, evidence, and collaboration.
Event Details
Official Launch of the Warren Centre for Civil Justice
Date: Wednesday 29 April 2026
Time: 6–8pm
Registration from 5.30pm
Campus: Monash University Law Chambers,
555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Speakers
Professor the Honourable Marilyn Warren AC KC
Former Chief Justice of Victoria (2003–2017)
At the time Professor the Honourable Marilyn Warren AC KC stepped down from the Supreme Court, she was the longest serving of the then state and federal Chief Justices. Prior to this, she was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria (1998-2003) including sitting as the Judge in Charge of the Commercial List and the Corporations List (now combined as the Commercial Court). Whilst on the bench, Professor Warren sat in all jurisdictions, trial and appellate, and extensively in commercial cases.
Professor Warren is a Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow of Monash University. She is a member of the Monash University Global Leaders’ Summit. She is involved in teaching commercial law and international arbitration in the Monash University Law Faculty graduate programs as Professor.
The Honourable Richard Niall
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria
Since 2017, Justice Niall has served as a judge of appeal of the Supreme Court presiding over criminal and civil appeals as well as matters in the trial division. He was appointed Victoria’s Solicitor-General in 2015. Earlier in his career, Justice Niall was a senior counsel at the Victorian Bar, specialising in constitutional and administrative law.
In 2010, Justice Niall was appointed Queen’s Counsel with notable appearances in the High Court of Australia in areas including human rights law and environmental law. He will be the thirteenth Supreme Court Chief Justice of Victoria. Justice Niall entered legal practice in 1990 and joined the Victorian Bar in 1995. He holds degrees in economics and law from Monash University.
Professor Steven Vaughan
Dean, Faculty of Law, Monash University
Professor Steven Vaughan is the Dean of the Faculty of Law. Professor Vaughan is an internationally renowned legal educator, scholar and author with 20 years’ experience spanning industry, higher education and several non-executive director roles. A values-driven leader, Professor Vaughan is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and has spent much of his career developing teaching approaches that influence, motivate and inspire students to learn.
Professor Vaughan joined Monash University on 2 January 2025, having previously worked at University College London (UCL), where he was Professor of Law and Professional Ethics. He has had extensive leadership experience at UCL Laws, having previously served as Vice Dean (Strategy), Deputy Dean/Head of Department, and (COVID) Chair of the Faculty Education Team. Professor Vaughan has also held teaching and academic leadership positions at leading law schools across the UK, including Cardiff University, the University of Bristol and the University of Birmingham.
Associate Professor Genevieve Grant
Director, Warren Centre for Civil Justice
Associate Professor Genevieve Grant is Director of the Warren Centre for Civil Justice (formerly the Australian Centre for Justice Innovation), in the Law Faculty at Monash University. She is co-author of Luntz & Hambly's Torts: Cases, Legislation and Commentary (LexisNexis, 10th ed, 2025) and Victorian Statutory Compensation Systems (LexisNexis, 2021, with Jason Taliadoros). Associate Professor Grant's research uses empirical methods to evaluate justice system performance, including the design and operation of dispute resolution, civil justice and injury compensation systems. This work cuts across the fields of dispute resolution, legal technology, injury compensation, legal ethics and health law.
Associate Professor Grant has experience investigating the perspectives of stakeholders and users (including lawyers, consumers of legal services, compensation claimants, users of online dispute resolution platforms, courts, family law disputants, medical examiners and administrative decision-makers). She is particularly interested in the use of administrative data to enhance access to justice.