The Law Society of South Australia v Abdul-Karim

The Law Society of South Australia applied to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia for an order removing the name of Mr Abdul-Karim from the Roll of Legal Practitioners. Mr Abdul-Karim had been admitted and enrolled as a barrister and solicitor in New South Wales. Pursuant to the *Mutual Recognition Act 1992* (Cth), he was subsequently admitted and enrolled as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of South Australia. His name was later removed from the Roll of Legal Practitioners in New South Wales, and his practising certificate in that state was cancelled.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether Mr Abdul-Karim's name should be removed from the Roll of Legal Practitioners of the Supreme Court of South Australia, given the removal of his name from the equivalent roll in New South Wales.

The Court reasoned that the *Mutual Recognition Act 1992* (Cth) provided a mechanism for practitioners admitted in one state to be admitted in another, but it did not alter the disciplinary jurisdiction of the receiving state. The Court held that the removal of a practitioner's name from the Roll in their home state, under circumstances that would warrant such removal in South Australia, justified the removal of their name from the South Australian Roll. The Court applied the principle that a practitioner's entitlement to practise in South Australia was contingent upon their continued good standing in their original jurisdiction, as facilitated by the mutual recognition legislation.

The Court ordered that the name of the defendant, Mr Abdul-Karim, be removed from the Roll of Legal Practitioners of the Supreme Court of South Australia.