McKechnie J in LEGAL PROFESSION
COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE -v- CHIN [2012] WASC 467 or LPD 2 OF 2012 refers to the
procedural errors committed by the Respondent in the following paragraphs of
his judgment:
6. Re Nicholas Ni Kok Chin; Ex parte
Chin [2012] WASC 219 was an
attempt by the practitioner to re-litigate matters which had been
determined by the Court of Appeal. He did not seek leave to commence
the proceedings as required by the order of Murray J. The application
was
dismissed. This is a procedural decision.
ANSWER: LEAVE WAS SOUGHT. NOTICE OF APPEAL DATED 27.6.2012 WAS LODGED AND IS WITHOUT A CACV NUMBER.
ANSWER: LEAVE WAS SOUGHT. NOTICE OF APPEAL DATED 27.6.2012 WAS LODGED AND IS WITHOUT A CACV NUMBER.
7 Re
Nicholas Chin; Ex parte Chin [2012] WASC 220 was an
application for judicial review in respect of Murray J's order. The
applicant did not lodge a notice of appeal in the Court of Appeal. This
is
the only competent way to challenge the order. The application was
dismissed. Again the decision was procedural.
ANSWER: NOTICE OF APPEAL DATED 27.6.2012 WAS LODGED AND IS WITHOUT A CACV NUMBER.
ANSWER: NOTICE OF APPEAL DATED 27.6.2012 WAS LODGED AND IS WITHOUT A CACV NUMBER.
IN RELATION TO S.244 OF THE LPA2008:
34 The practitioner's written and oral
submissions before us revealed a
profound failure to understand the character of these proceedings and
the
legal framework for its determination. He invited us to reject, ignore
or
invalidate the findings of SAT. He submits, for example, that the court
should not accede to the recommendations of SAT because 'it is a void
recommendation' and 'it is based on falsity ... falsehood ... [and]
improper
motives' (ts 8). No such course is open to us in this proceeding. It is
not
an appeal from, or application for judicial review of, the SAT's
decision.
To the contrary, SAT's report is conclusive as to the facts and findings
in
it.
ANSWER: NOTICE OF APPEAL DATED 3.1.2012 WAS LODGED AND IS WITHOUT A CACV NUMBER.
In
the terms of the above procedural errors committed by the Respondent and NOTICE OF APPEAL HAVING BEEN LODGED DATED 27.6.2012, the Full
Bench has a duty to ensure that the Appellant did not suffer prejudice in
accordance with the accepted principle of law that procedural errors as opposed
to errors in substantive law should not prejudice the Respondent's fundamental rights to earn a living. In this respect, the Respondent appends below
the judgments of the Court of Appeal in Glew v Frank Jasper Pty Ltd [2010]
WASCA 87 at para.10 where their Honours Murphy J and Newnes JA made the following
observations:
“A Court should always be careful to see that the
rights of an unrepresented litigant have not been “obfuscated by their own
advocacy”: Neil v Nottr [1994) HCA l23(5).
It must be alert to the possibility that beneath inadequately expressed
and often irrelevant material there may lurk an arguable case. And some
leniency may be required in relation to compliance with the rules. But in the end the allowances that can be
made for a litigant in person are necessarily limited, both as a matter of
fairness to the other party, who must be adequately informed of the case they
have meet, and because the provision of acceptable grounds of appeal is
fundamental to the appellate function by the court.”