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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-07-02 Daily Xml
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Legal Practitioners (Senior and Queen's Counsel) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:43): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation and the detailed explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading them.

Leave granted.

Mr President, I am pleased to introduce the Legal Practitioners (Senior and Queen's Counsel) Amendment Bill 2020. The Bill sets out the process by which legal practitioners who have been appointed as Senior Counsel by the Supreme Court can be appointed as Queen's Counsel.

Mr President, the title of Senior Counsel is awarded to those members of the South Australian legal profession who have demonstrated outstanding ability as Counsel as well as leadership within the profession.

The title came into use in South Australia in 2008 after the Government of the day ceased the appointment of QC in line with a consistent trend across other states and territories to discontinue its use.

However in recent years a number of jurisdictions have reinstated the optional use of the QC title following strong support amongst the legal profession.

The South Australian Bar Association has requested that the QC title be reinstated in South Australia so that its members who have been appointed by the Supreme Court as SC have the option of seeking appointment as QC, further aligning with other jurisdictions.

I commend further work undertaken by the Law Society of South Australia who provided a survey to all members of the legal profession. In response to the question of whether there should be option for an SC to become a QC, 67.26% of respondents answered in favour. I am advised by the Law Society that there were 843 respondents of the 3444 admitted Members of the profession.

These respondents see the clear merit in South Australia having a system of choice for those SCs appointed by the Supreme Court to be appointed as a QC by the Governor.

The title of QC, or KC as it may well be in the future, is a universally recognised title around Commonwealth nations. For South Australia, it is a key tenet of my Justice Agenda to build capacity in our legal sector in this state. This includes the promotion of SA as a fantastic place for businesses to operate and to arbitrate, particularly with our world class legal profession.

I acknowledge that many of our senior bar travel interstate and international to undertake work – a clear pat on the back for our profession.

Mr President, I will now turn to the clauses of the Bill.

Clause 4 of the Bill introduces a number of new sections to the Legal Practitioners Act 1981. New section 91 provides that the Chief Justice may, on behalf of the Supreme Court and in accordance with the Rules of the Court, appoint any legal practitioner as a Senior Counsel and that appointment must be published in the Gazette as soon as reasonably practicable.

This retains the ability of the Bench to appoint those barristers whom they think fit to hold the SC title, and whom they see working on a daily basis.

New section 92 provides that the Attorney-General of the day, at the request of the legal practitioner who is appointed a Senior Counsel, must recommend to the Governor that he or she be appointed as Queen's Counsel (or King's Counsel as the case may require). Upon that appointment by the Governor in the Gazette the legal practitioner ceases to be a Senior Counsel but will still take precedence in accordance with his or her former precedence as Senior Counsel.

New section 93 provides that the Chief Justice can, on behalf of the Supreme Court in accordance with the Rules of the Court, revoke the legal practitioner's appointment as Senior Counsel or as Queen's Counsel. New section 93 sets out how the legal practitioner can resign that appointment by written notice to the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice must ensure that revocations and resignations are published in the Gazette as soon as practicable.

Schedule 1 of the Bill contains transitional provisions which provide that new section 92 will apply to Senior Counsel appointed before or after the commencement of that section. New section 93 will apply to Senior and Queen's Counsel who are appointed before or after the commencement of that section.

Mr President, this Bill offers choice. It reflects a clear position of a majority of the legal profession in South Australia and aligns opportunities for senior advocates with other jurisdictions already making this change. I do not seek to curtail the choice and objectives of the bar, and simply wish to allow, through this Bill, greater flexibility to those appointed as SC to either retain that SC title, or become a QC depending on their own personal wishes.

I commend the Bill to Members and I seek leave to insert a copy of the Explanation of Clauses.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Legal Practitioners Act 1981

4—Insertion of Part 7

This clause inserts a new Part 7 as follows:

Part 7—Appointment of Senior Counsel, Queen's Counsel etc

91—Appointment of Senior Counsel

Proposed section 91 provides for the appointment of Senior Counsel by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

92—Appointment of Queen's Counsel etc

Proposed section 92 allows a Senior Counsel to request that the Governor appoint them as a Queen's Counsel (in which case the Attorney-General must recommend the making of such an appointment by the Governor and the person will, on appointment, become a Queen's Counsel rather than a Senior Counsel).

93—Revocation and resignation of appointments

This proposed section allows for the revocation, by the Chief Justice, of an appointment as a Senior Counsel or as a Queen's Counsel and also allows for resignations from such appointments.

Schedule 1—Transitional provision

1—Application of section 92

Section 92 extends to persons appointed as Senior Counsel before commencement of the measure.

2—Application of section 93

Section 93 extends to persons appointed as Senior Counsel or as Queen's Counsel before commencement of the measure.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

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