Hearing at High Court of Australia 13 April 2022
The matter of the Government’s request to the High Court of Australia to hear their appeal against the full release of the Appeal Court’s judgement in Bernard Collaery’s case, scheduled for 9.30am.
Here is a portion of Kieran Pender’s recent article in the Australian Book Review magazine:
“It is at this point that the pre-trial proceedings took a turn that would be outlandish even in Franz Kafka’s The Trial. The attorney-general appealed to the High Court – not to challenge the underlying decision of the Court of Appeal, but to contest the Court’s refusal to redact parts of their written reasons. The government wants to keep a judgment that said no to secrecy itself secret. The case remains before the High Court, awaiting a decision on whether the attorney-general will be granted special leave to appeal (a hearing is expected in mid-April). If special leave is granted, the High Court will weigh in on the redactions later this year. If not, we might finally see a judgment, handed down six months ago, that said no to a secret trial. It is perversity heaped on perversity.”
Two articles:
High Court judges delay considering whether to release secret evidence in Bernard Collaery conspiracy trial
Elizabeth Byrne – ABC News – 13 April 2022 Elizabeth Byrne
The High Court has put off considering whether details of an alleged Australian spying operation in Timor-Leste should remain secret during a criminal trial.
Toby Vue – Canberra Times – 13 April 2022
The federal Attorney-General’s bid for an appeal to redact more parts of a judgment that ruled for an open trial of Bernard Collaery has been adjourned after three High Court judges questioned the application with one describing the case as being “fragmentation of a criminal proceedings at its worst” on Wednesday.
