A Victorian Supreme Court judge is being brought in to oversee a court challenge by the ACT’s former top prosecutor over the inquiry surrounding Bruce Lehrmann’s prosecution.

Shane Drumgold wants the findings of an inquiry chaired by former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff overturned.

It found he had lost his objectivity and lied to the chief justice in his prosecution of Mr Lehrmann who was charged with raping fellow Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins.

Among the findings were that Mr Drumgold knowingly lied to the chief justice about a note regarding a meeting with broadcaster Lisa Wilkinson and a speech she made when she won a Logie for an interview with Ms Higgins.

Mr Drumgold has since resigned as ACT director of public prosecutions, with both he and Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury agreeing his position was untenable.

The judicial review will not focus on the merits of the Sofronoff inquiry’s findings, but rather if they were reached in the correct lawful manner.

Mr Drumgold dropped his case against the ACT attorney-general but continued to pursue the Sofronoff board of the inquiry and the ACT government.

ACT Registrar Jayne Reece wrote to the Victorian Supreme Court’s chief justice asking for an acting judge to preside over the case to avoid any conflict of interest due to Canberra’s “very small legal community”.

Justice Stephen Kaye was recommended and his appointment has been suggested to the ACT executive but is yet to be rubber stamped and could take some weeks to become official.

Ms Reece told the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday she didn’t have a relationship with Mr Drumgold outside of a professional one and that she envisaged no problems in presiding over the legal directions of the case.

Mr Drumgold’s lawyer Terry O’Gorman wanted the timeline for the case expedited as the court heard arguments over whether directions should wait until Justice Kaye officially takes over the case.

“We respectfully submit that time is just being wasted at present,” Mr Gorman told the court.

Mr Sofronoff’s legal counsel remained opposed, saying his client was in an unusual position as he seeks clarity on indemnity.

The issue is expected to be resolved in coming days, Glen Cranny told the court.

“This is not a conventional situation we have here”, he said, making the argument for extra time.

It would be counterintuitive to make expedited orders only for Sofronoff’s team to come back and be “presumably unable to comply”, Ms Reece said.

The case will next come before the ACT Supreme Court on September 28.

The substantive hearing is expected to run for two days but could go longer if facts are in dispute.

It’s likely the case will be heard next year but there is a chance the substantive matter could come before the court this year, depending on when legal milestones are met.

Mr Lehrmann was accused of raping Ms Higgins in a ministerial office at Parliament House in 2019, allegations he has always denied.

Mr Lehrmann’s criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court was discontinued last October due to juror misconduct.

Mr Drumgold ultimately dropped the prosecution against Mr Lehrmann, fearing the impact of a second trial on Ms Higgins’ mental health.

– AAP