Bowtell v The Commonwealth of Australia

This matter came before the High Court of Australia concerning an application for remitter. The applicant, Clifford John Bowtell, sought to have his case remitted to a court, with the primary contention revolving around the applicability of limitation periods. The respondent was the Commonwealth of Australia.

The central legal issues before the court were the applicability of the six-year limitation period under the *A.C.T. Limitation Act* and the scope of section 44(2A) of an unspecified Act, which was raised in the context of a gap identified by Chief Justice Gibbs in the *State Bank* case. Additionally, the court considered the balance of convenience in determining the appropriate venue for the proceedings.

The court noted that there was no objection to a remitter to the Supreme Court of Queensland, provided the "slight cloud" hanging over the applicability of the limitation period could be resolved. The applicant indicated that he would be content with a remitter to Queensland if assured that the defendant would not plead the limitation period as a defence. The Commonwealth, while suggesting that authorities were against such a plea being available to it, stopped short of providing an undertaking. The court observed that if an assurance regarding the limitation defence were given, the only remaining arguments would likely concern the comparative speed of proceedings in the Federal Court in Brisbane versus another venue.