Registrar, Supreme Court of Norfolk Island v Walsh

The case of Registrar, Supreme Court of Norfolk Island v Walsh involved a legal practitioner, Mr Walsh, who had been found guilty of professional misconduct and ordered to pay money to another practitioner and to reimburse the Registrar for costs. The Registrar brought a contempt application against Mr Walsh for failing to comply with these orders over a period of three years. The court had to determine whether it had the inherent power to punish for contempt of its orders and, if so, whether Mr Walsh's deliberate non-compliance constituted contempt. The court found that as a superior court of record, it did indeed have the inherent power to punish for contempt and that Mr Walsh's actions constituted contempt of court. The court reasoned that Mr Walsh had deliberately flouted the court's authority and had ample means to comply with the orders but chose not to do so.

The court held that Mr Walsh was guilty of contempt in failing to pay the other practitioner and the Registrar as ordered. The court decided to adjourn the determination of penalty to give Mr Walsh an opportunity to purge his contempt or establish a matter that might warrant revisiting the orders. In the meantime, the court ordered that freezing orders be applied to Mr Walsh's bank accounts and other resources to prevent him from disposing of or diminishing the value of his assets. The court also reserved the costs of the application to be determined at the next hearing.