Hughes v Law Society of New South Wales (LSD) (No. 2)

In Hughes v Law Society of New South Wales (LSD) (No. 2), the case was heard by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute arose from an appeal by Mr. Hughes against decisions made by the Legal Services Commission. The Law Society of New South Wales contested the jurisdiction of the Appeal Panel to hear Mr. Hughes' appeals from judgments made in two separate matters, No 36 of 1996 and No 36 of 1994.

The court was required to determine whether the Appeal Panel had the jurisdiction to hear Mr. Hughes' appeals. The Law Society argued that the Appeal Panel did not have the jurisdiction to hear the appeals as the relevant statutory provisions did not allow for such appeals to be heard by the Panel. The court needed to consider the statutory framework governing the jurisdiction of the Appeal Panel and whether the Panel's actions were in line with the statutory requirements.

The court held that the objection to the jurisdiction of the Appeal Panel was valid. The court found that the Appeal Panel did not have the jurisdiction to hear the appeals as the relevant statutory provisions did not provide for such appeals to be heard by the Panel. Consequently, the decisions and orders of the Tribunal made on 29 June 1999 were void for the purpose only of determining the jurisdiction of the Appeal Panel. The court also found that the Appeal Panel had no jurisdiction to hear the appeals by Mr. Hughes from the judgments in matters No 36 of 1996 and No 36 of 1994.