Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v The Daniels Corporation International Pty Ltd [2001] FCA 244

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v The Daniels Corporation International Pty Ltd [2001] FCA 244

Section 155(5)(a) of the Trade Practices Act 1974, by requiring compliance with a notice to the extent the person is capable of complying and in the context of the Act's investigative purpose, impliedly excludes the operation of common law legal professional privilege; therefore, a recipient of a s 155 notice is not entitled to refuse compliance on the ground of legal professional privilege.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
03 April 2001
Procedural Posture
Statutory Interpretation/enforcement Proceeding / Full Court Determination of Preliminary Issue Referred by Single Judge
Outcome
Legal professional privilege is not a valid ground for refusing to comply with a notice under s 155 of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Preliminary issue decided in favour of the ACCC.
Legal Topics
['legal Professional Privilege' 'statutory Abrogation of Privilege' 'powers of the Accc' 'trade Practices Act S 155']
['competition Law' 'evidence Law' 'statutory Interpretation'] ['legal Professional Privilege' 'statutory Abrogation of Privilege' 'powers of the Accc' 'trade Practices Act S 155']

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Procedural Posture

Statutory Interpretation/enforcement Proceeding / Full Court Determination of Preliminary Issue Referred by Single Judge

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether common law legal professional privilege applies to notices issued by the ACCC under s 155 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth)' 'Whether s 155 of the Trade Practices Act abrogates legal professional privilege']

Ratio Decidendi

Section 155(5)(a) of the Trade Practices Act 1974, by requiring compliance with a notice to the extent the person is capable of complying and in the context of the Act's investigative purpose, impliedly excludes the operation of common law legal professional privilege; therefore, a recipient of a s 155 notice is not entitled to refuse compliance on the ground of legal professional privilege.

Court Disposition

Legal professional privilege is not a valid ground for refusing to comply with a notice under s 155 of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Preliminary issue decided in favour of the ACCC.

Orders

  • ['The second respondent is not entitled to refuse to comply with either of the notices issued to that respondent on 14 September 1999 by the applicant on the ground of legal professional privilege.' 'The costs of determining the preliminary issue be paid by the first respondent.']