Castlemaine Tooheys Limited & Ors v The State of South Australia

Castlemaine Tooheys Limited and others brought proceedings against the State of South Australia. The matter came before the High Court of Australia by way of a stated case, with the parties having agreed on a statement of facts.

The central legal issue before the Court concerned the appropriate procedure for raising questions of law for determination. Specifically, the parties sought to proceed by way of a special case under Order 35 of the High Court Rules, rather than a case stated under section 18 of the Judiciary Act, due to concerns about the ability of the Court to draw inferences from the agreed facts under the latter provision.

The Court was required to consider the application of Order 35, rule 1(4), which permits the Court to draw inferences, and rule 2(1), which allows for questions of law to be raised by a special case. The parties submitted that Order 35 provided a more convenient mechanism for resolving the matter, particularly given the potential for inferences to be drawn from the agreed facts, which might not be permissible in a standard case stated under the Judiciary Act. The Court indicated it would make an order under Order 35, rule 2(1) to proceed by way of a special case.