Fairfax Media has learned Justice Adams is the government's nomination for Chief Commissioner of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), which replaces the Police Integrity Commission and functions of the Ombudsman and Inspector of the NSW Crime Commission.

The nomination will go before the NSW parliamentary oversight committee for the LECC, Ombudsman and NSW Crime Commission, which has power of veto over the appointment.

If Justice Adams is appointed, as expected, two deputy commissioners will then be chosen with his concurrence.

In 2007, Justice Adams criticised the actions of ASIO officers in an Australian Federal Police terrorism case brought against Sydney medical student Izhar ul-Haque.

The case collapsed after Justice Adams criticised ASIO officers for kidnapping and falsely imprisoning Mr Ul-Haque on trumped-up charges and ruled that all records of interview were inadmissible.

Prior to joining the bench, Justice Adams led the prosecution of David Eastman, who was convicted of the 1989 shooting murder of Australian Capital Territory police chief Colin Winchester. The conviction was later quashed.

In 1996 he was appointed chairman of the NSW Law Reform Commission on a three-year term by the then Labor government.

The LECC was a recommendation of former shadow attorney general Andrew Tink, who was commissioned by the government to examine how oversight of the NSW Police and the NSW Crime Commission could be streamlined.

The newly constituted agency assumes complete responsibility for investigating serious police misconduct and corruption and overseeing complaints handling.

However, the appointment process for the inaugural LECC chief commissioner has not gone completely smoothly for the government.

The government's initial nomination, Victorian senior barrister Jack Rush, belatedly withdrew for family reasons.

A spokeswoman for Police Minister Troy Grant said no comment would be made until the appointment is official.