On 9 August 1983 the Commission received a reference from the Attorney General and Minister for justice, the Hon D.P. Landa, LLB., M.LC., to inquire into and report on the procedures and criteria which should be followed and applied for selection of the persons to be first appointed as Magistrates under section 12(1) of the Local Courts Act 1982. The terms of reference required the Commission to prepare an Interim Report as soon as possible.
The Interim Report has been prepared by a Division of the Commission By virtue of the Law Reform Commission Act, 1967, a Division is deemed to be the Commission for the purposes of the reference in respect of which it is constituted. The Division on the First Appointments as Magistrates Under the Local Courts Act, 1982, consists of the following members of the Commission:
Professor Ronald Sackville (Chairman)
Mr. Russell Scott (Deputy Chairman)
Mr. Denis Gressier (Commissioner in charge of this reference)
Mr. J.R.T. Wood, Q.C.
We wish to express our appreciation to the Chief Justice of New South Wales, the Hon. Sir Laurence Street, K.C.M.G., K.St. J., the Chief Judge of the District Court of New South Wales, His Honour Judge J. H. Staunton C.B.E., Q.C., and the Chairman of the Bench of Stipendiary Magistrates, Mr. C.R. Briese, for their assistance in the course of our work on this Interim Report. Each of them has given freely of his time and advice. While they should not necessarily be taken as endorsing the contents of the Report (except where specifically indicated), their contributions have been of great value to us.
Mr. Julian Disney has acted as a Consultant to the Commission in connection with this reference and we acknowledge his substantial and valuable contribution.
Members of the Commission's staff who participated in the preparation of the Report are Ms. Helen Mills and Ms. Meredith Wilkie. We also acknowledge the assistance of Mr. H. Selby, Barrister.
The Commission expresses its appreciation of the important contribution made by the administrative, library and secretarial staff. This Interim Report has been prepared within a very short period and the staff of the Commission have carried a particularly heavy burden.
