Joseph Santamaria

Joseph Gerard Santamaria (14 July 1948 – 23 July 2026) was an Australian jurist and a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in August 2013 and retired in July 2018. He was a Senior Fellow in the Juris Doctor programme at the Melbourne Law School.

Education and career Santamaria attended St Patrick's College, East Melbourne. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws with honours from the University of Melbourne. He later attended University College, Oxford, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Letters.

Together with Ian Renard, Santamaria was the co-author of Takeovers and Reconstructions in Australia. Between 1978 and 1990, Santamaria was a reporter for the Commonwealth Law Reports.

Personal life and death Santamaria was a son of Australian political activist B. A. Santamaria. He died at home in Melbourne, on 23 July 2026, at the age of 78.