Commonwealth of Australia v Sasin

The Commonwealth of Australia sought to strike out an appeal filed by Sasin for want of prosecution. The dispute arose from the significant delay of approximately 16 years between the filing of the notice of appeal and the institution of the appeal proceedings. The critical issue was the inability to locate essential documents required for a re-trial, which had been necessitated by the lengthy delay. The matter was heard by Meagher JA.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the appeal should be dismissed due to the appellant's failure to prosecute the appeal with due diligence. This involved considering the impact of the extensive delay on the ability to conduct a fair re-trial, particularly given the unavailability of essential documents.

Meagher JA granted the application to strike out the appeal. The reasoning centred on the prejudice caused by the extreme delay, which rendered a fair re-trial impossible due to the loss of essential documents. The court applied the principle that an appellant has a duty to prosecute their appeal diligently, and a failure to do so, resulting in prejudice to the respondent or the administration of justice, can lead to dismissal. The application was granted.