The balance of complaints were submitted individually. In any consideration of the statistics of the complaints dealt with by the Commission it must be remembered that there are 278 judicial officers in New South Wales who in 1998 dealt with in excess of 400,000 matters. A high proportion of complaints alleged that the judicial officer in question, either unfairly or improperly, prevented the losing party to litigation from properly putting his or her case or, favoured the winning party. Complaints of this nature are assessed by examining the detail of the record and, where appropriate, seeking an explanation from the judicial officer involved. In the case of many of these complaints, a sound recording of the proceedings is listened to, or a written transcript is examined.
Some complaints involve allegations of incompetence.
In evaluating these complaints the members of the Commission consider the issues and evidence in the case in question, and take into account their own knowledge and judicial experience, where appropriate. Frequently, complaints are made in apparent substitution for appeals to a higher court. Standing alone, this is not a proper basis for a complaint. However, where the complainant goes on to allege that not merely was the decision wrong, but also that it was such that no reasonable person could have made it, and for that reason it reveals some inadequacy on the part of the judicial officer, then the Commission gives close consideration to the material that was before the judicial officer in order to see whether such a charge can be substantiated. A number of complainants alleged that a judicial officer had made a wrong decision and that this was said to involve judicial misbehaviour on the part of the judicial officer.