Dacich v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW); Kennedy v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) (No 2)

The Supreme Court of New South Wales, Court of Appeal, considered applications for judicial review brought by Mr Dacich and Mr Kennedy against the Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW). The applicants sought to challenge various aspects of their criminal prosecutions and sentences, including a sentence imposed by the District Court.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the applicants had identified specific decisions amenable to judicial review and whether the grounds of review were properly articulated. The Court also had to consider the operation of a statutory stay under the *Supreme Court Act 1970* (NSW) following the grant of bail, and whether the applicants had demonstrated special circumstances for such a stay pending an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court. Furthermore, the Court was required to determine if the applicants' repeated applications for judicial review, including a motion to reopen previously dismissed applications, constituted an abuse of process and should be dismissed pursuant to rule 13.4 of the *Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005* (NSW).

The Court found that the applicants had failed to identify specific decisions for review and had repeated grounds previously dismissed, constituting an abuse of process. The Court noted the absence of evidence that an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court had been filed, and therefore no special circumstances were demonstrated to warrant a stay of the Court's previous orders. Consequently, the Court dismissed the applicants' application for a stay, their notice of motion, and their amended summonses pursuant to rule 13.4 of the *Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005* (NSW).