Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited (No 41) [2023] FCA 555

Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited (No 41) [2023] FCA 555

The Court generally preferred the respondents' supported eyewitness and contemporaneous evidence over the applicant's contrary submissions. It found, among other things, that the respondents' interpretation of the SOTG reporting about Whiskey 108 was correct; that the Exploitation Report and Person 18's evidence supported the location of EKIA56; that documents relied on by the applicant did not outweigh clear eyewitness evidence; that the deceased man in the Darwan cornfield was Ali Jan; that Person 12 was on the Chinartu mission and had not shot the dog on 31 July 2012; that no adverse inference should be drawn from the respondents' failure to call Person 12; and that Person 11...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
01 June 2023
Procedural Posture
Defamation Proceedings / Reasons for Judgment Published in Closed Court Concerning Part 3 — Substantial Truth and Contextual Truth
Outcome
Reasons for judgment published in closed court; specific orders are not stated in the extracted reasons.
Legal Topics
['substantial Truth' 'contextual Truth' 'closed Court Reasons' 'witness Credibility and Reliability' 'contemporaneous ADF Records' 'adverse Inference' 'afghanistan Military Operations']
['defamation' 'evidence' 'national Security Information'] ['substantial Truth' 'contextual Truth' 'closed Court Reasons' 'witness Credibility and Reliability' 'contemporaneous ADF Records' 'adverse Inference' 'afghanistan Military Operations']

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Procedural Posture

Defamation Proceedings / Reasons for Judgment Published in Closed Court Concerning Part 3 — Substantial Truth and Contextual Truth

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the respondents' substantial truth and contextual truth case was supported by the evidence concerning Whiskey 108, Darwan, Chinartu, Fasil, the bullying of Person 1, alleged assaults on PUCs, the blue-on-blue incident, and alleged witness intimidation, collusion, contamination, concealment and lies." 'Whether contemporaneous ADF records, exploitation reports, Sametime chat records, patrol debriefs and other sensitive documents displaced or supported eyewitness evidence.' 'Whether particular witnesses, including Persons 24, 27, 5, 11, 14, 18, 31, Mohammed Hanifa and Mangul Rahmi, were honest and reliable.' "Whether adverse inferences should be drawn from the respondents' failure to call Person 12 as a witness."]

Ratio Decidendi

The Court generally preferred the respondents' supported eyewitness and contemporaneous evidence over the applicant's contrary submissions. It found, among other things, that the respondents' interpretation of the SOTG reporting about Whiskey 108 was correct; that the Exploitation Report and Person 18's evidence supported the location of EKIA56; that documents relied on by the applicant did not outweigh clear eyewitness evidence; that the deceased man in the Darwan cornfield was Ali Jan; that Person 12 was on the Chinartu mission and had not shot the dog on 31 July 2012; that no adverse inference should be drawn from the respondents' failure to call Person 12; and that Person 11...

Court Disposition

Reasons for judgment published in closed court; specific orders are not stated in the extracted reasons.

Orders

  • []