Jauncey v Law Society of New South Wales

The parties before the High Court of Australia were the applicant, Mr. Jauncey, and the respondent, the Law Society of New South Wales. The dispute concerned an application for a stay of proceedings. The applicant sought an adjournment of the proceedings until Tuesday, which was not consented to by the Law Society.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether to grant a stay of proceedings. This arose in the context of an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court, following the dismissal of the applicant's appeal by the Court of Appeal of New South Wales. A stay had previously been granted by the Court of Appeal by consent, pending the determination of the applicant's employment by the Aboriginal Legal Aid Society.

The Court considered the implications of the pending decision by the Aboriginal Legal Aid Society regarding the applicant's employment. The applicant argued that if permission to employ him was granted, the special circumstances justifying a stay would fall away, potentially rendering the proceedings unnecessary. The Law Society, however, argued that the stay granted by the Court of Appeal was based on a temporary, overriding public interest that had not been demonstrated to continue. The Court acknowledged the possibility that if the application for special leave succeeded, the appeal would be at large, but also noted the applicant's considerable difficulty in securing special leave.