The Territory’s top judge has been accused of “acting improperly” by a prominent Darwin lawyer over his handling of a complaint against Justice Stephen Southwood that has stalled for nearly two years, after he initially failed to disclose a conflict of interest involving his deep entanglement in the Stella Maris inquiry and “secret communications” following a damning 2015 court ruling.

Chief Justice Michael Grant was overseeing the complaint lodged by Alistair Wyvill against Justice Southwood as chair of the newly-created NT Judicial Commission – the body that investigates complaints against the Territory’s judges – until recusing himself last year after the matter of his potential conflict was raised, which led to the disclosure of communications between himself and Justice Southwood that had started the day after Southwood’s findings against Mr Wyvill.

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