Australian Crime Commission v Stoddart [2011] HCA 47

Australian Crime Commission v Stoddart [2011] HCA 47

At common law, there is no privilege entitling a witness to refuse to answer questions on the grounds that the answer might incriminate the witness's spouse. The Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cth) does not recognise or preserve such a privilege. Therefore, Mrs Stoddart was not entitled to claim spousal privilege before the examiner.

Parties
Appellant: Australian Crime Commission; First Respondent: Louise Stoddart; Second Respondent: W M Boulton
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
30 November 2011
Procedural Posture
Appeal / High Court Appeal From Full Court of Federal Court of Australia
Outcome
Appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Spousal Privilege, Privilege Against Self Incrimination, Competence and Compellability of Witnesses
Evidence Law Criminal Law Spousal Privilege Privilege Against Self Incrimination Competence and Compellability of Witnesses

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Parties

Australian Crime Commission

Appellant

Louise Stoddart

First Respondent

W M Boulton

Second Respondent

Procedural Posture

Appeal / High Court Appeal From Full Court of Federal Court of Australia

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Does a privilege exist at common law entitling a spouse to refuse to answer questions tending to incriminate the other spouse (spousal privilege)?
  2. 2 If such privilege exists, has it been abrogated by the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cth)?

Ratio Decidendi

At common law, there is no privilege entitling a witness to refuse to answer questions on the grounds that the answer might incriminate the witness's spouse. The Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cth) does not recognise or preserve such a privilege. Therefore, Mrs Stoddart was not entitled to claim spousal privilege before the examiner.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Set aside paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of the order of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia made on 15 July 2010 and in their place order that the appeal to that Court be dismissed.