Commonwealth of Australia v Saadat

The Commonwealth of Australia appealed against pre-trial orders made by a designated trial judge. The Commonwealth sought leave to appeal these orders, assuming they were interlocutory, or alternatively, contended that leave was not required as the orders were not interlocutory. The appeal was heard by Kourakis CJ, Nicholson and Hinton JJ.

The central legal issue before the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia was whether the pre-trial orders made by the designated trial judge were interlocutory or final in nature. This characterisation was critical to determining whether the Commonwealth required leave to appeal the orders.

The Court considered the nature of the orders made. It was held that the orders were not final because they did not finally determine the rights of the parties in the proceeding. Instead, they were procedural directions that regulated the conduct of the litigation. Accordingly, the orders were interlocutory, and the Commonwealth was required to obtain leave to appeal. The Court then considered the application for leave to appeal.