Supreme Court Of South
Australia
Back to list of
practice directions
Practice Direction 33
Appointment of Queen’s Counsel
Attire
and use of post-nominals
1. Introduction
The appointment of
Queen’s Counsel in South Australia is made by the Governor in Council in
accordance with the following regulation which appears in the South Australian
Government Gazette of 26 March 1970 at page 1246:
“HIS Excellency the Governor in Council
hereby revokes the regulations for the appointment of King’s Counsel in South
Australia, published in the Government Gazette on the 26th day of
December, 1912, at page 1323, and makes
the following regulations as to Queen’s Counsel in this State, namely:-
(1) No
practitioner of the Supreme Court shall be appointed Her Majesty’s Counsel
except after consideration of the views of the Judges of the Supreme Court as
communicated by the Chief Justice to the Governor in Executive Council, and
with the approval of the Chief Justice.
(2) On
the appointment of any practitioner to be Her Majesty’s Counsel a fee of ten
dollars for the patent shall be paid by such counsel at the office of the Chief
Secretary.”
The purpose
of this Practice Direction is to make known the procedures to be adopted by the
Judges in making their views known to the Governor in Executive Council.
Recommendations for appointment as
Queen’s Counsel will be made on the basis of a combination of the following
qualities:
(a) Sufficient
standing, evidenced by a high level of professional eminence and distinction;
(b) Wide
experience in the conduct of advocacy;
(c) Highly
developed advocacy skills;
(d) Legal
learning, such that the applicant may properly be described as learned in the
law;
(e) Complete
integrity, such that the applicant’s honesty and candour is beyond question;
(f) Availability;
(g) Independence.
3. Highly developed advocacy
skills includes the ability
to put an argument succinctly.
4. Integrity includes:
(a) a
reputation for honesty, discretion and plain dealing with the courts,
professional colleagues and lay and professional clients;
(b) independence
of mind;
(c) professional standing, namely, having the
respect of the judiciary and the profession with respect to observing duties to
the courts and to the administration of justice, while preparing and presenting
a client’s case with dedication and skill, and having the trust and confidence
of professional colleagues.
5. Availability involves a
practitioner adopting a mode of practice which ensures that his or her services
are available generally to prospective clients and are not unduly restricted by
client or business relationships. This
does not preclude the acceptance of a general or special retainer on behalf of
a client. Queen’s Counsel must honour
the duty to accept briefs to appear within their area of practice and for which
they are available, regardless of any personal opinions of the parties or of
the causes, and subject only to exceptions relating to appropriate fees and
conflicting obligations. The criterion
of availability does not apply to counsel holding a statutory office or in the
employment of the Crown or the Legal Services Commission.
6. Independence includes objectivity and
detachment. Besides absence of
connections which restrict availability, it involves the ability and courage to
give advice and to make decisions which serve the best interest of the client
and the administration of justice.
Application
must be made to the Chief Justice in writing in the form contained in
the Schedule to this Practice Direction. A copy
of the form of application may be downloaded from the Courts
Administration Authority website: http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/lawyers/practice_directions/index.html. No other documents, such as references, are
to be included.
8. In order to be
considered in any calendar year, an application must be lodged by 31 August in
that year.
9. An applicant who
is unsuccessful in the year of application will be reconsidered in the
following year, but not in subsequent years, without further application being
made, provided that the applicant may submit a revised application for
consideration before 31 August of the following year if relevant information
has changed. An applicant who is
unsuccessful in two consecutive years may submit a fresh application in a
subsequent year.
10. Any person
wishing to be considered in 2006 must submit an application in accordance with
the requirements of this Practice Direction.
This applies to any previous applicant for appointment as Queen’s
Counsel who has not been appointed but who is desirous of being considered for
appointment under these provisions.
As soon as practicable after 31 August
in each year the Chief Justice will provide a list of the current year’s
applicants and copies of the relevant applications, including revised
applications, to:
(a) The
Attorney-General;
(b) The
senior resident Judge of the Federal Court of Australia;
(c) The
senior resident Judge of the Family Court of Australia;
(d) The
Chief Judge of the District Court;
(e) The
Senior Judge of the Industrial Relations Court;
(f) The
President of the South Australian Bar Association;
(g) The
President of the Law Society of South Australia.
In
respect of an applicant who has nominated for consultation the head of another
jurisdiction in which he or she practises, the Chief Justice will forward a
copy of that application to the head of that jurisdiction.
12. The
Chief Justice will request, by reference to the criteria for appointment,
written comments on each application from the persons referred to in paragraph
11 in time for consideration by the Judges at their September meeting. The Chief Justice may also seek the opinion
of such persons as to whether an applicant should be recommended for
appointment.
13. It is expected that the
persons referred to, before making any response, will have consulted further
with the following:
(a) In
the case of the senior resident Judge of the Federal Court and the Family Court, the other Judges resident in
the jurisdiction and other Judges before whom the applicant has appeared, if
thought fit;
(b) In
the case of the Chief Judge of the District Court, the Judges of the District
Court;
(c) In
the case of the Presidents of the South Australian Bar Association and the Law
Society of South Australia, their respective council or executive as the case
may be and such other members of those bodies as the respective Presidents
consider appropriate;
(d) In
the case of the head of another jurisdiction, judicial officers of that
jurisdiction before whom the applicant has appeared.
It is
expected that the written responses will reflect the result and describe the
nature and extent of that further consultation.
14. Following receipt
of their written comments, the Chief Justice will meet with the Presidents of
the South Australian Bar Association and the Law Society of South Australia for
further consultation concerning any or all of the applicants, and may consult
further with the persons referred to in paragraph 13 or other persons
concerning any or all of the applicants.
(1) The
applications, written comments (para.12) and any supplementary information will
be made available to the Judges at their September meeting, with a decision on
their recommendations to be made at the October meeting. A recommendation for appointment as Queen’s
Counsel will only be made if it has the support of two thirds of the Judges,
including that of the Chief Justice. A
Judge who is unable to be present at the relevant meeting may appoint a proxy
to act on that Judge’s behalf.
(2) The timing of the various events
referred to in paras. 8, 9, 11, 12 and 15 above may be altered by the Chief
Justice to meet the exigencies of the situation.
Subject to any
requirement of the South Australian Bar Association as to notification and
disclosure of the name of an applicant to members of the Bar Association, the
identity of an applicant and any application or other material relating to an
applicant will remain confidential to the Judges and to those persons who may
be consulted in accordance with this Practice Direction. Reasons for not recommending a particular
person will not be disclosed.
17. Attire and the use of Post-Nominals
Subject
to the requirements and permission of particular courts, tribunals and other
jurisdictions, Queen’s Counsel shall wear the court dress generally worn by
Queen’s Counsel [see Practice Direction No. 3].
18. Queen’s Counsel
shall be entitled to describe themselves as “Queen’s Counsel” and, when
abbreviated, “QC”.
Queen’s Counsel,
by seeking and achieving appointment, undertake:
(a) to
confine the nature of their practice to the type of work usually performed by
Queen’s Counsel and to do so in a manner consistent with the standards
reflected in the criteria for appointment;
(b) to
use the designation only while they remain practising barristers in sole
practice or retained under statute by the Crown, or during temporary
appointments in a legal capacity to a court, tribunal or statutory body, or in
retirement from legal practice; and
(c) that if they practise in future as a
solicitor or in partnership or association with a solicitor they will not,
while so practising, permit their partners or associates to attribute to them,
in connection with such legal practice, the title QC or Queen’s Counsel or any
other indicia of the office of Queen’s Counsel.
Queen’s
Counsel will rank in seniority according to the date of their appointment, and
in the case of persons appointed on the same day, in order determined by the
instrument of appointment.
21. Interstate appointees as
Queen’s Counsel or Senior Counsel
(1) Queen’s
Counsel and Senior Counsel, appointed as such elsewhere in Australia, will be
accorded in the courts of this State the title under which they practise in the
jurisdiction in which they were appointed and the status and privileges of
Queen’s Counsel in this State, without the necessity of obtaining a separate
commission as Queen’s Counsel in South Australia.
(2) If admitted as legal practitioners in this
State, such persons will rank in seniority, if already Queen’s Counsel or
Senior Counsel at the time of admission in South Australia, as though appointed
Queen’s Counsel on the date of admission, and if appointed Queen’s Counsel or
Senior Counsel after the date of South Australian admission, from the date of
the appointment.
22. Revocation of Practice Direction 33
Practice Direction
33 dated 27 August 2002 is revoked.
DATED the 4th
day of August, 2006
(Edie
Bransbury)
REGISTRAR
Application for Consideration for Appointment
as Queen’s Counsel
Name: ……………………………………………………………………………..
Business Address: ……………………………………………………………...
Business telephone …………………
Business email
address…………………………………………………………….
Date of Birth …………………
Tertiary
qualifications:
|
Nature of Qualification |
University or Institution |
Date of Conferral |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Date(s) of
admission to practice:
|
Jurisdiction |
Date of Admission |
|
South Australia |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description of principal
areas of practice since first admission, including courts and tribunals (and in
the case of Commonwealth courts and tribunals, their locations) in which the
applicant has most frequently appeared.
(Attach additional sheet if space insufficient):
Any other
information relevant to consideration of this application. (Attach additional sheet if space
insufficient):
In addition to
consultation with the representatives of the Federal Court of Australia and the
Family Court of Australia and with the Chief Judge of the District Court of
South Australia, I request the Chief Justice to consult with the head(s) of the
following jurisdiction(s) concerning my application:
Particulars of any
conduct of the applicant of which the applicant is aware which has been the
subject of any complaint received or investigation undertaken by the Legal
Practitioners Conduct Board or any equivalent body in South Australia or in any
other jurisdiction:
I, the abovenamed
applicant:
(a) acknowledge that I have read Practice
Direction 33 of the Supreme Court of South Australia;
(b) agree to be bound by it and by any Practice
Direction amending or replacing it;
(c) have not concealed any conduct or matter
relating to me which, if known by the Legal Practitioners Conduct Board, could
reasonably be expected to be investigated by that Board;
(d) declare that the facts contained in this
application are true and correct; and
(e) authorise
the Legal Practitioners Conduct Board of South Australia or the equivalent body
in any other jurisdiction, to release to the Chief Justice any information
concerning any complaint or investigation relating to my conduct as a legal
practitioner as the Chief Justice may require.
Signed: _______________________________________
Dated: _______________________________________