Attorney General in and for the State of NSW v Bar-Mordecai

In the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the Attorney General for the State of New South Wales brought an application against Bar-Mordecai. The Attorney General sought to remove a paragraph from a judgment that had been issued in a case involving the disclosure of health information. The application was based on an alleged breach of section 68 of the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002. Bar-Mordecai opposed the application, arguing that the court had not breached the Act and that the application was without merit.

The court had to determine whether the paragraph in question constituted a breach of section 68 of the Act and whether the judge presiding over the case should recuse herself due to an apprehension of bias. The first issue involved interpreting the relevant provisions of the Act and assessing whether the content of the paragraph breached the statutory requirements. The second issue required the court to consider whether the judge's conduct warranted recusal based on the circumstances that gave rise to the apprehension of bias.

The court found that the paragraph in question did not constitute a breach of section 68 of the Act. The court held that the paragraph contained factual findings that were necessary to support the legal conclusions reached in the judgment. The court also dismissed the application for the judge to recuse herself, finding that there was no basis for an apprehension of bias. The court held that the circumstances did not give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias and that the application was without merit.

As a result, the application to remove the paragraph from the judgment was dismissed. The court also dismissed the application for the judge to recuse herself. These findings ensured that the integrity of the judicial process was maintained, and the judgment remained unaffected by the applications made by Bar-Mordecai.