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The court that deals with family break-ups is dealing with the aftermath of a personal drama of its own, after Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Chief Justice Will Alstergren confirmed he is in a romantic relationship with a fellow Circuit and Family Court judge.
The revelation follows questions from The Australian Financial Review, and the disclosure of the relationship internally to senior judges. The Financial Review understands the relationship is with Amanda Mansini.
In a statement provided to the Financial Review, the court said that “Chief Justice Alstergren confirms that he separated from his wife almost six months ago, and he is in a consensual relationship with another judge”.
“Senior judges of the court were advised at that time, and appropriate steps have been in place since then to avoid any concerns of conflict of interest, such as administrative decisions. The chief justice will also not sit on appeals from a decision of the judge,” the court statement said.
“The chief justice sincerely hopes that his family’s privacy is respected as they navigate this painful and challenging time.”
The court’s judicial workplace conduct policy states that, apart from “pre-existing relationship which has been disclosed to the chief”, “judges should be aware that forming or seeking to form sexual or intimate personal relationships with court employees may be an exploitative personal relationship”.
A court insider, however, said the policy was understood to apply to employees, not to judges, who are statutory office holders.
Alstergren and Mansini have conducted considerable travel together in the past year, including as part of their promotion of the Court Dog Program, which grew out of Mansini’s efforts to introduce therapy dogs into the court system. For some months she has been the public face of the initiative.
Source: Family Court Chief Justice Will Alstergren in relationship with junior judge Amanda Mansini