Cohen v Harguos; Karelicki v Harguos (No 2)

The case of Cohen v Harguos; Karelicki v Harguos (No 2) involved a dispute over racial vilification. The applicants, Cohen and Karelicki, sought compensation and an apology from the respondent, Harguos, for comments he made that were deemed to be racially vilifying. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The primary issue before the court was whether the comments made by Harguos constituted racial vilification under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth). The court also had to determine the appropriate remedy to be awarded to the applicants if the comments were found to be racially vilifying.

The court found that Harguos' comments were indeed racially vilifying. The judge held that the comments targeted Cohen and Karelicki because of their race, which was a protected attribute under the Act. The court emphasised the importance of protecting individuals from racial vilification and the need to send a strong message that such behaviour would not be tolerated. The court also considered the impact of the comments on the applicants, finding that they had caused them significant distress and humiliation. The court awarded each applicant $1500 in compensation and ordered Harguos to publish an apology in specified newspapers. If Harguos failed to comply with the apology order, he would be required to pay an additional $2000 to each applicant. The court declined to award costs to the applicants, finding that the matter had been resolved amicably and that the applicants had not incurred significant costs in pursuing the matter.