Judicial Commission of New South Wales

The Judicial Commission of New South Wales is an independent statutory corporation of the New South Wales Government that provides sentencing information and continuing education to and examines complaints made against judicial officers in New South Wales, Australia.

The commission is headed by the Chief Justice of New South Wales, presently Andrew Bell, and consists of the heads of each of the major courts in New South Wales plus community representatives. Its powers are enshrined in the Judicial Officers Act 1986,^[1] and the Commission reports to the Attorney General, presently Hon.Michael Daley MP.

While the commission was originally the only body of its type in Australia, similar commissions have now been established in South Australia^[2] and Victoria.^[3] Similar bodies are also in existence in Canada, India and the United States.^[4] The work of the commission is split into two distinct areas. The first is a conduct division which deals with complaints about judicial officers. The other area is the educative function, which provides information on sentencing information, legal development and ongoing training for judicial officers.

The commission marked a significant change in the legal system in New South Wales. It restored public confidence in the judicial system, which had been rocked by a series of scandals and allegations of misconduct in the early 1980s. The commission eliminated the political process from the removal of a judge from public office. Judges were no longer subject to the whim of the government of the day in whether they could be removed from office. Instead, the commission now provides a means outside politics for the dispassionate consideration of misconduct by judicial officers. As one present judge has suggested, the commission has actually improved and safe-guarded independence of the courts.^[5] The model for a judicial commission has received support for introduction elsewhere in Australia.^{[6]: p 78}