ASIC v Farley

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) sought certiorari against the decision of a Local Court Judge to dismiss an application for leave to appeal a conviction for breaches of the Corporations Act. The Local Court Judge had dismissed the application on the basis that ASIC had not demonstrated that there was an error of law, and that the Local Court did not have jurisdiction to grant leave to appeal unless there was a jurisdictional error. ASIC argued that the Local Court Judge had erred in law by applying the wrong test and by not considering the merits of the appeal application. The Federal Court of Australia was asked to determine whether the Local Court Judge had made a jurisdictional error, and if not, whether ASIC could still obtain certiorari for an error of law. The court found that the Local Court Judge had not made a jurisdictional error, as the court did have jurisdiction to consider the merits of the appeal application. However, the court found that the Local Court Judge had made an error of law by applying the wrong test, and that ASIC was entitled to certiorari. The court noted that while certiorari was not available for every error of law, it was available where there was a significant error of law that resulted in a miscarriage of justice. The court granted certiorari and ordered the Local Court to reconsider the appeal application. The court also noted that the Local Court Judge's decision not to grant leave to appeal was unreasonable, and that the Local Court should have granted leave to appeal. The court ordered the Local Court to grant leave to appeal and to stay the conviction pending the outcome of the appeal.