Agricultural Societies Council of NSW v Christie

The Agricultural Societies Council of NSW (the applicant) sought to appeal a decision of the Supreme Court of NSW which had set aside a decision of its disciplinary committee to suspend a show horse trainer (the respondent). The disciplinary committee had found the respondent in breach of its rules, leading to the suspension. The core of the dispute concerned the jurisdiction of the courts to interfere with the decision of a domestic tribunal and the fairness of the tribunal's process.

The legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the Supreme Court had erred in setting aside the disciplinary committee's decision. Specifically, the court considered whether the Supreme Court had jurisdiction to grant relief in the nature of certiorari or private law remedies such as a declaration or injunction, given the absence of a contractual or other private law right between the parties. Furthermore, the court examined whether a reasonable apprehension of bias arose from the involvement of a member of the disciplinary committee in the horse testing and swabbing procedures, potentially compromising the impartiality of the decision-making process.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the applicant, as a domestic tribunal, did not exercise statutory power, and therefore, the Supreme Court did not have jurisdiction to grant relief by way of certiorari. The court also found that there was no contractual relationship or other private law basis for the court to grant a declaration or injunction. Regarding the apprehension of bias, the court held that a fair-minded observer, aware of the facts, might reasonably apprehend that the member involved in the testing procedures might not bring an impartial mind to the decision, as their role was akin to that of a prosecutor.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, set aside the orders of the Supreme Court made on 11 August 2015, and dismissed the respondent's summons. The respondent was ordered to pay the applicant's costs of the proceedings below and the appeal.