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IT'S BEEN one of the highest profile legal sagas in recent memory, culminating today with the High Court's ruling in the case of Gerard Baden-Clay.
Legal organisations are calling for the public to respect The High Court's decision to overrule the Queensland Court of Appeal and reinstate Baden-Clay's initial conviction of murder, which was handed down by Supreme Court Justice John Byrne.
Queensland Law Society (QLS) president Bill Potts says the ruling has helped to refine society's understanding of the law, and that the decision proves that 'the system works.'
"The original decision was in-line with the understanding of the law at that time, and the High Court's decision reflects the current interpretation of the law," he said.
"The court made its decision by interpreting the law and considering the submissions before it, not in response to emotive considerations or public sentiment as it should."
At the time of his sentence Baden-Clay would have had to serve a minimum of 15 years in custody before ever being eligible for parole.
According to Potts, the responsibility now rests with the Queensland Parole Board to decide if he should ever be released.
Potts also urges the community to bear the children and family of victim Allison Baden-Clay in mind when managing responses to the High Court's decision.
"Whatever our personal views on this decision, we should keep in mind that Allison's children have lost a mother, her parents a daughter and her siblings a sister," he says.
"This decision brings some form of closure for them but it does not address their loss.
"I ask everyone to keep the feelings of the bereaved front-of-mind when they respond to the High Court's ruling."
As per the High Court's decision today, Gerard Baden-Clay may stay behind bars for the remainder of his life.
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