Conway v Jerram, Magistrate and NSW State Coroner

The applicants, Conway and Jerram, sought leave to appeal from a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Campbell and Young JJA) which refused their application to require the State Coroner to hold an inquest into the death of a Mr. Conway. The applicants contended that the "manner and cause" of the deceased's death had not been sufficiently disclosed and that the interests of justice required an inquest.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the Supreme Court had erred in refusing to order the Coroner to hold an inquest, and whether the refusal constituted an interlocutory judgment or order for the purposes of appeal. The Court also considered the scope of a coroner's jurisdiction concerning the "manner and cause" of death, and the meaning of "the interests of justice" in this context, as well as the appropriate standard of appellate review for discretionary decisions.

The Court of Appeal applied the principles established in *House v The King*, holding that interference with a discretionary decision of the court below was only warranted in cases of error of law, or where the decision was so unreasonable that no reasonable tribunal could have reached it. The Court found that the Supreme Court had correctly considered the relevant factors in determining whether the "manner and cause" of death were sufficiently disclosed and whether the interests of justice necessitated an inquest. The refusal to order an inquest was deemed an interlocutory order, and as it did not involve an amount of $100,000 or more, leave to appeal was required.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the application for leave to appeal, extending the time for filing the application to 14 June 2011 as a preliminary step before dismissing the substantive application.