Crawford & Sisinis and Anor

In the matter of *Crawford & Sisinis and Anor*, Berman J of the Supreme Court of Victoria considered a dispute concerning the inspection and dissemination of documents produced by Ms Dolan of Practice B pursuant to a subpoena issued on 29 August 2014. The parties involved sought to clarify the terms under which these documents could be accessed and discussed.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the legal representatives of the parties, including the Independent Children’s Lawyer, should be permitted to inspect documents produced by Ms Dolan, and whether an injunction should be granted to restrain the discussion of the contents of those documents.

Berman J reasoned that it was appropriate to grant liberty to inspect the subpoenaed documents, acknowledging the need for parties to access relevant evidence in proceedings. However, the Court also recognised the potential for prejudice or misuse of sensitive information contained within those documents. Consequently, the Court granted an injunction restraining the parties and their legal representatives from discussing the contents of the documents with any person not directly involved in the proceedings, thereby balancing the need for disclosure with the protection of confidential information.

The Court ordered that legal representatives for the parties, including the Independent Children’s Lawyer, be at liberty to inspect the documents produced by Ms Dolan. Furthermore, an injunction was granted restraining the parties and their legal representatives from discussing the contents of these documents with any person not directly related to the proceedings.