Person “A” v The Commonwealth [2019] NSWSC 727

Person “A” v The Commonwealth [2019] NSWSC 727

The confidential affidavit showed a significant risk of prejudice to Australia's defence, security and international relations if the information covered by the proposed pseudonyms and suppression orders were disclosed. The proposed claims were straightforward damages claims, the secrecy concerned only the background facts, the derogation from open justice was limited, and without the orders Person "A" and arguably the legal representatives risked criminal sanction. The orders were therefore necessary to prevent prejudice to the national interest and that public interest outweighed the public interest in open justice.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
31 May 2019
Procedural Posture
Application for Pseudonym, Non Publication and Suppression Orders / Notice of Motion Dated 30 May 2019 Heard in Closed Court From the Duty List
Outcome
Non-publication and non-disclosure orders made pursuant to the Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010 (NSW) and the grounds set out in ss 8(1)(a), (b), (c) and (e) of that Act.
Legal Topics
['pseudonym Orders' 'suppression Orders' 'non Publication Orders' 'open Justice' 'national Security' 'federal Jurisdiction']
['civil Procedure'] ['pseudonym Orders' 'suppression Orders' 'non Publication Orders' 'open Justice' 'national Security' 'federal Jurisdiction']

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Procedural Posture

Application for Pseudonym, Non Publication and Suppression Orders / Notice of Motion Dated 30 May 2019 Heard in Closed Court From the Duty List

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether Person "A" should be permitted to commence proceedings against the Commonwealth using pseudonyms for the person\'s name and other material facts.' "Whether non-publication and suppression orders should be made to prohibit or restrict disclosure of information said to affect Australia's defence, security and international relations." 'Whether the public interest in non-disclosure outweighed the public interest in open justice.']

Ratio Decidendi

The confidential affidavit showed a significant risk of prejudice to Australia's defence, security and international relations if the information covered by the proposed pseudonyms and suppression orders were disclosed. The proposed claims were straightforward damages claims, the secrecy concerned only the background facts, the derogation from open justice was limited, and without the orders Person "A" and arguably the legal representatives risked criminal sanction. The orders were therefore necessary to prevent prejudice to the national interest and that public interest outweighed the public interest in open justice.

Court Disposition

Non-publication and non-disclosure orders made pursuant to the Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010 (NSW) and the grounds set out in ss 8(1)(a), (b), (c) and (e) of that Act.

Orders

  • ['Pseudonym orders made to allow Person "A" to commence proceedings against the Commonwealth using pseudonyms for the person\'s name and other material facts.' "Non-publication and suppression orders made prohibiting or restricting disclosure of the plaintiff's name and other confidential material." 'The suppression...