Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback Edited Legal Collections Data

Job, Jenny --- "Barristers Beyond the Law: State and Non-State Actors Work in Partnership to Enforce Legal and Moral Norms" [2008] ELECD 311; in van Schooten, Hanneke; Verschuuren, Jonathan (eds), "International Governance and Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008)

Book Title: International Governance and Law

Editor(s): van Schooten, Hanneke; Verschuuren, Jonathan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847207272

Section: Chapter 9

Section Title: Barristers Beyond the Law: State and Non-State Actors Work in Partnership to Enforce Legal and Moral Norms

Author(s): Job, Jenny

Number of pages: 17

Extract:

9. Barristers beyond the law: state and
non-state actors work in partnership
to enforce legal and moral norms
Jenny Job

1. INTRODUCTION

It can come as something of a surprise when so-called pillars of society
break the rules and choose non compliance. This was the situation in the
Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) in the late 1990s and early
2000s when many barristers chose to ignore their obligations to comply
with taxation law by using bankruptcy law to nullify their debts to the
Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In doing so, they also chose to ignore
the rules of their profession about behaving ethically. Even more surpris-
ing, the Bar Association chose not to enact the sanctions in its rules and,
initially, did not deal with the non compliance of its members. The tax
office, its peers and the community trusted and expected the Bar
Association to self regulate. The actions of the barristers concerned broke
state and non-state laws, denied the community the use of millions of
dollars in taxes, exposed their culture to public scrutiny and tarnished the
reputation of the profession. The challenge for the tax office was in secur-
ing compliance in such a situation. Prosecution was an option, one typ-
ically used by taxation administrations, but this problem was not confined
to just a few individuals. As well, bankruptcy law is not administered by the
tax office. Other options for ensuring compliance were needed.
Despite the supposed clarity that has been ...