Konstantinidis v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales

The appeal concerned a disciplinary application brought by the Council of the Law Society of New South Wales against Mr. Konstantinidis before the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The central dispute revolved around whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear the complaints, given the Law Society's alleged failure to comply with specific procedural requirements under sections 537(2) and 540 of the *Legal Profession Act 2004* (NSW). The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the Law Society's non-compliance with the aforementioned sections of the *Legal Profession Act 2004* (NSW) deprived the Tribunal of jurisdiction to entertain the disciplinary application. A further issue arose regarding the desirability of making an anonymisation order concerning the Tribunal's decisions, particularly in light of the parties seeking consent orders.

The Court reasoned that the procedural requirements in sections 537(2) and 540 of the *Legal Profession Act 2004* (NSW) were mandatory and that the Law Society's failure to comply with them meant the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the disciplinary application. The Court noted that no objection was raised to a new point being raised on appeal, and that the parties sought consent orders. Consequently, the Court allowed the appeal on grounds 1 and 3, setting aside the Tribunal's decisions and dismissing the Law Society's disciplinary application, with each party to bear their own costs in the Tribunal. The respondent was ordered to pay the appellant's costs of the appeal.