The President of the Law Council of Australia has issued a Media Statement MS# 1508 dated 18 August 2015 describing the public attacks on the Royal Commissioner, Mr Dyson Heydon AC QC, “being played out through the media”, as “unacceptable” and as damaging the basis on which Courts and tribunals operate. The Statement notes that the person who sits as a Royal Commissioner is entitled to the same respect as a Judge in a Court and that Mr Heydon is a highly regarded former judicial officer. The Statement goes on to say that the proper way to deal with any question of bias is to make an application for the Commissioner to recuse himself, and for the Commissioner to consider and rule on the application.
