Adler v The Queen

The applicant, Adler, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Court of Appeal of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the applicant's conviction for various offences under the Corporations Law, including making false and misleading statements and failing to disclose material information. The applicant had been found guilty by a jury and sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in law by admitting certain evidence, specifically the testimony of a prosecution witness, Mr. Williams. The applicant argued that Mr. Williams' evidence was inadmissible because it was obtained in circumstances that breached the applicant's privilege against self-incrimination. This raised the question of whether the privilege could be invoked to exclude evidence that was compulsorily obtained under provisions of the Corporations Law.

Gummow J considered the nature of the privilege against self-incrimination and its statutory limitations. His Honour noted that while the privilege is a fundamental common law right, it can be abrogated by clear statutory provisions. In this instance, the relevant provisions of the Corporations Law were found to compel the production of documents and the giving of information, thereby overriding the common law privilege in certain circumstances. His Honour concluded that the evidence obtained from Mr. Williams was therefore admissible, as it was compulsorily obtained under the relevant legislation.

Special leave to appeal was refused.