(1) In this Act, except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires: Chairperson means the Chairperson of the Conduct Division.Commission means the Judicial Commission of New South Wales constituted by this Act.complaint means a complaint under Part 6 about a judicial officer.Conduct Division means the Conduct Division of the Commission.judicial officer means (except in Part 7A):
(a) a Judge or associate Judge of the Supreme Court, (b) a member (including a judicial member) of the Industrial Relations Commission, (c) a Judge of the Land and Environment Court, (d) a Judge of the District Court, (e) the President of the Children’s Court, (f) a Magistrate, or (g) (h) the President of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Magistrate includes a Children’s Magistrate and an industrial magistrate.President means the President of the Commission.regulations means regulations under this Act.(2) In this Act:
(a) a reference to a function includes a reference to a power, authority and duty, and (b) a reference to the exercise of a function includes, where the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty. (3) In this Act, a reference to the Chief Justice or the holder of any other judicial office includes a reference to an Acting Chief Justice or a person duly exercising the functions of or appointed to act in that other office.
(1) There is constituted by this Act a commission to be called the “Judicial Commission of New South Wales”. (1A) The Commission is, by virtue of this subsection, a corporation. (2) The Commission shall have and may exercise the functions conferred or imposed on it by or under this or any other Act.
(1) The Commission may employ a Chief Executive and such other staff as may be necessary to enable the Commission to exercise its functions. (2) The Commission may, with the concurrence of the Public Service Board, fix the salaries, wages, allowances and conditions of employment of any such staff in so far as they are not fixed by or under another Act or law.
(1) The Commission shall appoint a panel of 3 persons to be members of the Conduct Division for the purpose of exercising the functions of the Division in relation to a complaint referred to the Division. (2) Of the panel of 3 persons so appointed:
(a) 2 are to be judicial officers (but one may be a retired judicial officer), and (b) one is to be a community representative, being a person of high standing in the community nominated by Parliament in accordance with Schedule 2A.
(1) The Conduct Division may hold hearings in connection with the complaint. (2) A hearing may be held in public or in private, as the Conduct Division may determine.
(1) For the purposes of a hearing in connection with a complaint:
(a) the Conduct Division and the Chairperson have the functions, protections and immunities conferred by the on commissioners and the chairman of a commission appointed under that Act, and Royal Commissions Act 1923 (b) that Act, with any necessary adaptations, applies to any witness summoned by or appearing before the Division in the same way as it applies to a witness summoned by or appearing before a commissioner under that Act.
(1) If the Conduct Division decides that a complaint is wholly or partly substantiated and forms an opinion that the matter could justify parliamentary consideration of the removal of the judicial officer from office, it must present to the Governor a report setting out the Division’s findings of fact and that opinion. (2) (2A) A copy of the report must be furnished forthwith to the Minister.
(1) The Commission must, at the request of the Minister, provide the Minister with information that discloses the following in relation to a particular judicial officer:
(a) whether a complaint has been made, when a complaint was made and when the matter about which a complaint was made is alleged to have occurred, (b) the subject-matter of the complaint, (c) the stage of the procedure for dealing with a complaint that the complaint has reached, (d) for a complaint that has been disposed of, the manner in which the complaint was disposed of.
(1) If the Conduct Division is of the opinion that the judicial officer is physically or mentally unfit to exercise efficiently the functions of a judicial office, the Conduct Division is to present a report to the Governor setting out the Division’s conclusions.
(1) This section applies if a judicial exchange arrangement provides for the transfer to a NSW court of a judicial officer of a corresponding court. (2) The senior judicial officer of the NSW court may, in accordance with the judicial exchange arrangement and with the concurrence of the senior judicial officer of the corresponding court, appoint a judicial officer of the corresponding court to act as a judicial officer of the NSW court. (3) The judicial officer of the corresponding court is qualified for appointment despite any law of this jurisdiction to the contrary.
(1) Subject to this section, a judicial officer shall retire on reaching the age of 72 years, unless granted retiring leave, in which case the officer shall retire at the end of that leave.
(1) As soon as practicable after 30 June, but on or before 31 December, in each year, the Commission shall prepare and forward to the Minister a report of its work and activities, including the work and activities of the Conduct Division, for the 12 months ending on 30 June in that year.
(1) The does not apply to or in respect of the appointment of a member of the Commission or Conduct Division and such a member is not, as a member, subject to that Act. Public Service Act 1979
(Section 5 (7))
(Section 5 (8))
(Section 22 (2))
(Section 13 (4))
(Section 6 (6))
(Section 56)