WENTWORTH v NSW Bar Association

The New South Wales Court of Appeal heard an appeal by Mr. Wentworth against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the NSW Bar Association's refusal to grant Mr. Wentworth a practising certificate for the year 1993. Mr. Wentworth sought to challenge this refusal.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the Bar Association had acted unlawfully in refusing to grant Mr. Wentworth a practising certificate. This involved determining whether the Association had properly exercised its statutory discretion under the relevant legislation and whether its decision was affected by an error of law.

The Court of Appeal found that the Bar Association had not acted unlawfully. It held that the Association was entitled to consider Mr. Wentworth's past conduct and his fitness to practice when deciding whether to grant a practising certificate. The Court affirmed that the Association's discretion was not unfettered and must be exercised reasonably and in accordance with the law, but concluded that in this instance, the Association had properly exercised its discretion based on the material before it. The appeal was dismissed.