New appointment to the County Court

Attorney-General Robert Clark today announced the appointment of Christopher Ryan SC to the County Court of Victoria.

Mr Clark said Mr Ryan has had a long and successful career in criminal law, having worked as a Senior Crown Prosecutor since 2005.

“Mr Ryan’s expertise and standing within the profession have been developed over many years of service to the Victorian justice system, particularly in his role within the public prosecutions service,” Mr Clark said.

Mr Ryan graduated from Monash University in 1979. He was admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria and signed the Bar Roll in 1980.

“At the Bar, Mr Ryan specialised in criminal law and appeared on behalf of both the Crown and accused persons in the Supreme and County Courts, Magistrates’ Court and before various disciplinary tribunals,” Mr Clark said.

Mr Ryan was appointed Crown Prosecutor in 1996 and prosecuted a wide variety of cases, including homicide, complex fraud and drug matters.

In 2003 Mr Ryan was granted a leave of absence from the Director’s Office and was appointed Chief Legal Officer to the Director of Public Prosecutions Office of the Solomon Islands.

After his return to Victoria, Mr Ryan was appointed a Senior Crown Prosecutor in March 2005 and a Senior Counsel in November 2005. In 2011 and 2012 he served as the Senior Crown Prosecutor attached to the Specialist Sex Offences Unit within the OPP.

“Mr Ryan’s extensive criminal law experience and his outstanding reputation as a diligent, capable and fair prosecutor make him ideally suited to serve as a judge of the County Court, and I wish him every success in his future contributions to Victoria’s judicial system,” Mr Clark said.