Ethics FAQs - Duties to the Court

In the Solicitors Rule 2007 s.19 is headed ‘Integrity of Hearings’ and s.19.1 states that you must not publish, or take steps towards the publication of, any material concerning current proceedings for which you are engaged which may prejudice a fair trial of those proceedings or prejudice the administration of justice.

Of course, you must also have your client’s consent to disclose any confidential details – s.3 of the Solicitors Rule. You should also be alert to the danger of inadvertently breaching confidentiality by confirming or giving credence to details which, although apparently public knowledge, may have been until then of uncertain veracity.

Beyond the requirements of the rules, you should always consider obtaining your client or former client’s approval before making any public statement about their matter. Even if your comment only relates to details that are considered to be in the public domain, or no longer confidential, the client or former client may still see this as a betrayal of loyalty or at least discourteous.

For a recent example of a solicitor’s breach of confidentiality in speaking to the media in the Schapelle Corby case, see Legal Services Commissioner v Tampoe [2009] LPT 14.

As a party to protocols with all courts the Queensland Law Society, on behalf of its members, can approach the court when there has been undue delay in delivering a judgment - and for the Queensland courts there is a court protocol that reserved judgments should be delivered within 3 months.An advantage of this process, over contacting the court yourself, is that the judge will not know which party has been chasing the judgment. The Supreme Court has placed this notice on the Court's website.

For the Federal Magistrates Court, where a reserved judgment has not been delivered within three months of the completed hearing or written submissions, represented parties may contact the President of the QLS or the Bar Association of Queensland, who will write to the Chief Federal Magistrate.  Self-represented litigants should write directly to the Chief Federal Magistrate.

Complainants will be assured of anonymity and the complaint will be treated in confidence. The Chief Federal Magistrate will put in place administrative arrangements to assist the relevant Federal Magistrate to complete and deliver the judgment, and will provide feedback to the complainant through their representative, or directly in the case of a self-represented litigant.

QLS members should address enquiries, letters or emails about these protocols to QLS General Counsel on 3842 5966, fax 3221 9329, or m.hinton@qls.com.au