Harding v Law Society of New South Wales

The New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an appeal by Mr. Harding against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the Law Society of New South Wales' refusal to grant Mr. Harding a practising certificate for the year commencing 1 July 1990. Mr. Harding sought to challenge this refusal.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the Law Society had acted unlawfully or unreasonably in refusing to grant Mr. Harding a practising certificate. This involved an examination of the grounds upon which the Law Society could refuse such a certificate and whether Mr. Harding's circumstances met those grounds.

The Court of Appeal found that the Law Society had acted within its statutory powers and that its decision was not vitiated by error of law or unreasonableness. The Court applied the principles of administrative law, including the requirement for decisions to be made in good faith and for proper purposes, and that the decision-maker must take into account all relevant considerations and disregard irrelevant ones. The Court concluded that the Law Society had properly exercised its discretion.

The appeal was dismissed.