Yesterday, the High Court allowed an appeal by four criminal defendants against a unanimous judgment of the Victorian Court of Appeal and set aside two orders made by that court. According to the judgment summary of the High Court ruling, a majority of the Court ‘ordered that prosecutions of the appellants for offences against the Criminal Code (Cth) and the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) be permanently stayed.’ This means that the prosecution of the four defendants, whoever they are, for a number of federal and state offences, whatever they are, is over, for ever. The summary explains that all seven High Court justices found that one of Australia’s peak crime investigating bodies, the Australian Crime Commission, illegally allowed its extraordinary coercive powers to be used by another peak investigative body, the Australian Federal Police, to overcome the four defendants’ legitimate refusal to explain the possibly illegal activities of a (pseudonymous) company, XYZ Limited. According to the summary, a majority of the seven judges held that ‘in the circumstances of the case, to allow the prosecutions to proceed would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.’

This is an extraordinary ruling. The Court’s findings, especially if it turns out that the allleged crimes or criminals are high profile, would ordinarily be big news, both for the legal community and to the wider public. However, for now, suppression orders made somewhere – it’s a Victorian case – are preventing not only the naming of the defendants but also the release of the High Court’s reasons for judgment. Continue reading →