David Glass (a pseudonym) v The Chief Examiner & Ors

David Glass (a pseudonym) sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Court of Appeal. The dispute concerned the construction of a statute, specifically whether a coercive powers order was a jurisdictional prerequisite for the exercise of powers under section 43 of the Act to make or revoke a non-publication direction. The applicant argued that the principle of legality played a decisive role in resolving this question of construction.

The legal issues before the High Court were whether there was an important and uncertain question regarding the operation of the principle of legality that warranted the grant of special leave, whether this question arose from the construction issue in the present case, and whether a favourable resolution of that question would affect the outcome. The applicant contended that the principle of legality, which requires clear legislative expression of intent to curtail rights, should extend to the extent of curtailment, not just its existence. The applicant further argued that while some provisions of the Act expressly required an extant coercive powers order, other provisions, including the power to make non-publication directions, did not, creating an ambiguity that the principle of legality could resolve.

The High Court, without calling on the respondent, refused the application for special leave to appeal. The Court was of the view that the applicant's sole proposed ground of appeal did not have sufficient prospects of success to justify granting special leave. Consequently, the application for special leave was refused with costs.