Cachia v St George Bank Limited

This matter concerned an application before the High Court of Australia by Saviour Laurence Cachia against St George Bank Limited. The applicant sought a reconsideration of a special leave application that had previously been heard by the Court on 9 August. The core of the dispute revolved around whether the Court possessed the jurisdiction to revisit its prior decision on special leave and, if so, what factors would warrant such a reconsideration.

The legal issues before the Court were twofold: firstly, whether the High Court had the jurisdiction to reconsider its own decision on an application for special leave to appeal, and secondly, if jurisdiction existed, what circumstances would justify exercising it. The applicant contended that the Court did possess such jurisdiction and sought to rely on specific case authorities to support this submission.

The applicant's argument for reconsideration was primarily based on the fact that he was unrepresented at the previous special leave hearing, a situation arising from difficulties in obtaining legal representation. It was submitted that his self-representation led to a diversion of the Court's attention from the substantive issue that might have otherwise attracted special leave. The applicant also sought to demonstrate that the issue he now wished to raise had, in fact, been raised in earlier proceedings, contrary to a suggestion from the bench.