EJK v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales [2020] NSWCATOD 109

EJK v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales [2020] NSWCATOD 109

The Tribunal dismissed the application because it had no jurisdiction to direct the Registrar as to the determination of an application under r 42 for access to documents in finalised proceedings. To the extent the amended application was treated as seeking a variation under s 64(3), the Tribunal was not persuaded that variation was desirable: the original purpose of protecting persons involved in sensitive family law proceedings remained unchanged, the affected persons' views had not been heard, further dissemination depended on future court processes, and disclosure was likely primarily to assist EJK's private prosecution rather than discharge any prosecutorial duty of disclosure.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
16 September 2020
Procedural Posture
Application Under S 64 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (nsw) to Vary a Non Disclosure Order and Obtain Access to Documents Relating to Finalised Tribunal Proceedings / On the Papers; Final Procedural Ruling; Application Dismissed
Outcome
Application dismissed.
Legal Topics
['access to Public Access Documents' 'non Party Inspection of Tribunal Documents' 'non Disclosure Orders' "registrar's Powers Under R 42 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Rules 2014" 'variation or Revocation of Orders Under S 64 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013' 'dispensing With a Hearing']
['administrative Law' 'civil Procedure' 'occupational Regulation' 'statutory Construction'] ['access to Public Access Documents' 'non Party Inspection of Tribunal Documents' 'non Disclosure Orders' "registrar's Powers Under R 42 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Rules 2014" 'variation or Revocation of Orders Under S 64 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013' 'dispensing With a Hearing']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Application Under S 64 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (nsw) to Vary a Non Disclosure Order and Obtain Access to Documents Relating to Finalised Tribunal Proceedings / On the Papers; Final Procedural Ruling; Application Dismissed

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Tribunal should dispense with a hearing under s 50(2) of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW).' 'Whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to direct the Registrar to grant, or determine in a particular way, a non-party application for access to public access documents under r 42 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Rules 2014 (NSW).' 'Whether the existing non-disclosure order made in Council of the Law Society of New South Wales v Searle [2019] NSWCATOD 70 should be varied or revoked under s 64(3) of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW).']

Ratio Decidendi

The Tribunal dismissed the application because it had no jurisdiction to direct the Registrar as to the determination of an application under r 42 for access to documents in finalised proceedings. To the extent the amended application was treated as seeking a variation under s 64(3), the Tribunal was not persuaded that variation was desirable: the original purpose of protecting persons involved in sensitive family law proceedings remained unchanged, the affected persons' views had not been heard, further dissemination depended on future court processes, and disclosure was likely primarily to assist EJK's private prosecution rather than discharge any prosecutorial duty of disclosure.

Court Disposition

Application dismissed.

Orders

  • ['Pursuant to s 50(2) of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 a hearing is dispensed with.' 'The application is dismissed.']