Operation Juno is an investigation into the conduct of Mr Walter Sofronoff KC., the Chair of the Board of Inquiry established under the Inquiries Act 1991 into the Criminal Justice System in the Australian Capital Territory. The investigation examined the circumstances surrounding communications with, and disclosures of, confidential material made to journalists during the Inquiry, including the release of the report of the Inquiry before the report was made public by the Chief Minister.

Key findings

• Mr Sofronoff’s conduct fell within several elements of the definition of 'corrupt conduct' in the Integrity Commission Act 2018.
• Mr Sofronoff claimed that his conduct complied with the requirements of the Inquiries Act, and that he had acted in the public interest to ensure the media were adequately informed about the issues being investigated by his Inquiry.
• The Commission concluded that he had not, in fact, acted in good faith and that his conduct undermined the integrity of the Board’s processes and the fairness and probity of its proceedings to such an extent as to have been likely to have threatened public confidence in the integrity of that aspect of public administration. It therefore constituted serious corrupt conduct.