Birketu Pty Ltd ACN 003 831 392 & Anor v Atanaskovic & Ors

Birketu Pty Ltd and another party (the applicants) sought judicial review of decisions made by the respondent, Atanaskovic, and others, in their capacity as liquidators of a company. The applicants challenged the liquidators' conduct in relation to the sale of certain assets of the company, alleging breaches of duty and seeking to set aside the sale. The matter came before the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issues before the High Court were whether the liquidators had acted in accordance with their statutory duties under the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth) in conducting the sale of the company's assets, and whether the applicants had established grounds for judicial review of those decisions. Specifically, the court considered the nature of the duties owed by liquidators to creditors and members, and the appropriate standard of review for decisions made in the course of a liquidation.

The High Court's reasoning focused on the statutory framework governing liquidations and the principles of judicial review. The court affirmed that liquidators owe duties to act in good faith and exercise reasonable care and diligence in the performance of their functions. It was held that the applicants had failed to demonstrate that the liquidators' decisions were so unreasonable as to be outside the scope of their statutory powers or that they had breached any duty owed to the applicants. The court emphasised that judicial review is not an avenue to re-litigate commercial decisions properly made by liquidators within their statutory remit.

The High Court dismissed the application for judicial review.