John Morgan Mackenzie v Legal Services Commissioner

In the Supreme Court of New Zealand, John Morgan Mackenzie sought review of a decision by the Registrar not to accept for filing his purported application for leave to appeal from a Court of Appeal judgment. The Court of Appeal had earlier refused Mackenzie's application for special leave to appeal against a High Court judgment that dismissed his appeal from the Legal Services Tribunal. Mackenzie’s application to the Supreme Court was initially treated as an appeal from the Court of Appeal judgment, but the Court clarified that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain such an appeal under section 7(b) of the Supreme Court Act 2003. However, the Court did have jurisdiction under section 14 of the same Act to consider an appeal directly from the High Court judgment.

The legal issues before the Court were whether it had jurisdiction to review the Registrar’s decision and, if so, whether the application could be treated as seeking leave to appeal from the High Court judgment. The Court found that while it did not have jurisdiction to review the refusal of leave to appeal from the Court of Appeal, it did have the authority to entertain an appeal directly from the High Court judgment. The Court directed that Mackenzie's application be treated as if it sought leave to appeal from the High Court judgment, and instructed Mackenzie to file any additional submissions by 24 January 2014. The Legal Services Commissioner was not required to file submissions in opposition unless further notified by the Court.

In summary, the Supreme Court confirmed the Registrar's decision but reframed Mackenzie's application as one seeking leave to appeal from the High Court judgment. The Court set a deadline for Mackenzie to file any additional submissions and indicated that the Legal Services Commissioner need not respond unless otherwise notified.