Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) Except as provided
in this section, a party to any proceedings shall present his own case and not
be represented or assisted in the presentation of his case by another person.
(2) A party to any
proceedings may be represented by an agent or assisted by an agent in the
presentation of his case if the court hearing the proceedings is satisfied
that —
(a) the
party is unable to appear personally or conduct the proceedings properly
himself; and
(b) no
other party will be unfairly disadvantaged by the fact that the agent is
allowed so to act.
(3) All or any of the
parties to any proceedings may be represented by legal practitioners
if —
(a) all
the parties agree and the court hearing the proceedings is satisfied that any
party who is not so represented will not be unfairly disadvantaged;
(b) one
of the parties is a legally qualified person;
(c) one
of the parties is a body corporate and any other party elects to be so
represented;
(d) the
court is satisfied that one of the parties is unable to appear personally or
conduct the proceedings properly himself; or
(e) the
proceedings are instituted or defended, or the conduct thereof has been
assumed, by the Commissioner.
(4) This section does
not prevent —
(a) a
body corporate from being represented by an officer or employee of the body
corporate (not being a legally qualified person) authorised to conduct the
proceedings on its behalf (whether or not he is remunerated by the body
corporate for representing it in the proceedings); or
(b) a
person from acting as an interpreter for a party, if his fee does not exceed
an amount fixed by the court at the hearing.
(5) A person shall not
demand or receive any fee or reward for representing or assisting a party to
proceedings unless —
(a) he
is a legal practitioner;
(b)
where the party is a body corporate, he is an officer or employee of the body
corporate representing it under subsection (4); or
(c)
where the party is an owner, he is the agent of the owner appointed to manage
the premises the subject of the proceedings on behalf of the owner.
Penalty: $1 000.
(6) In this
section —
agent means any person who is not a legally
qualified person;
legal practitioner means an Australian legal
practitioner within the meaning of that term in the
Legal Profession Act 2008 section 3;
legally qualified person means an Australian
lawyer within the meaning of that term in the Legal Profession Act 2008
section 3 or a person who holds or has held legal qualifications under
the laws of this State or any other place.
[Section 22 amended by No. 50 of 1988
s. 18; No. 65 of 2003 s. 61; No. 59 of 2004
s. 120(3); No. 21 of 2008 s. 698.]