New judges SA Supreme, District Courts

South Australia's solicitor-general Chris Kourakis has been appointed as a Supreme Court judge.

He replaces Justice Bruce Debelle, who retired last month after 18 years on the bench.

Justice Kourakis becomes the first in SA to take the Senior Council title instead of Queens Counsel.

Attorney-General Michael Atkinson says he is pleased to make the appointment.

"We don't expect another appointment in the Supreme Court for some time to come so it was important now to set a firm base for the Supreme Court's future and I think Chris Kourakis is recognised as the most outstanding silk in South Australia," he said.

The SA Government has also bolstered the strength of the District Court to help clear a backlog of criminal cases.

Long-serving prosecutor Peter Brebner has been appointed.

SA's new solicitor-general is Martin Hinton, who has served as a senior crown prosecutor in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for the past eight years.