44Hearings of complaints by commission

44 Hearings of complaints by commission

(1)  For the purposes of conducting an inquiry into a complaint, a commission may hold hearings.

(2)  The presiding member of a commission must preside at a hearing of the commission.

(3)  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the procedure at a hearing of a commission may be decided by the commission.

(4)  At a hearing of a commission under this Part –

(a) the relevant judicial officer is entitled to appear and to be represented by an Australian legal practitioner; and

(b) a person summoned to attend, or to appear before the commission as a witness, may be represented by an Australian legal practitioner; and

(c) any other person may, with the consent of the commission, appear and may be represented by an Australian legal practitioner.

(5)  Subject to section 46 , a hearing must be held in public.

(6)  If, in examining a complaint in respect of a judicial officer, a matter which might constitute grounds for a complaint in respect of another judicial officer comes to the attention of the commission –

(a) the commission may –

(i) treat those grounds as a complaint in respect of the other judicial officer; and

(ii) refer the complaint in respect of the other judicial officer to the council; and

(b) the council may deal with the referred complaint in respect of the other judicial officer as if it were a complaint made under section 27 .

(7)  A hearing is to be held in accordance with any relevant guidelines made under section 7(2) .