The High Court has allowed an appeal against a decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal on compensation for resumed land in the context of commercial tenancies. In March 1999 the Mekpine entered into a retail shop lease in respect of Lot 6 within a retail shopping centre, which, after an expansion of the area in 2007, led to amalgamation of Lot 6 with Lot 1 and newly named ‘New Amalgamated Lot 1’. In 2008 the Council resumed part of New Amalgamated Lot 1, which had previously been part of Lot 1. Mekpine then brought a claim for Continue reading
Daily Archives: 10 March 2016
R v Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commissioner
The High Court has dismissed an appeal against a decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal on the powers of Victoria’s anti-corruption commission. IBAC sought to hold a public examination of the appellants, who are two police officers accused of assaulting a woman in custody and who face criminal charges in relation to that incident, pursuant to s 115 of the Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2011 (Vic). The VSCA upheld the Continue reading
News: Gageler J on Victoria’s missing rights Charter
Today, the High Court unanimously rejected an appeal by two anonymous Victorian police officers who argued that they should not be publicly examined by Victoria’s anti-corruption commission about an alleged assault of a detainee in a Ballarat police station because they had been notified that they may be prosecuted for the assault. The Court held that its recent decisions on a common law rule obscurely named the ‘companion principle’, which prevents executive action that interferes with the accusatorial process unless it is allowed by clear legislative language, does not apply to people who are not yet formally charged with an offence. Six of the Court’s seven judges explained their reasons in the usual short format that characterises the French court. But Gageler J added a more interesting concurrence discussing a statute the majority didn’t mention: Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006. This prompts the question: why wasn’t Victoria’s landmark human rights statute addressed by the balance of Australia’s peak court in a major decision involving the human rights of Victorians under a Victorian law? Continue reading