Dickens & Dickens (No 2)

In the matter of *Dickens & Dickens (No 2)*, the father sought a stay of the operation and enforcement of certain orders made on 20 May 2015 and 1 March 2016, and also sought to set aside a decision refusing his request for a subpoena. The mother and the Independent Children’s Lawyer opposed these applications. The proceedings were heard by Watts J.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether to grant a stay of the existing orders, thereby preventing their enforcement pending the determination of appeals, and whether to set aside the refusal of the father's request for a subpoena. The court also considered whether granting a stay would render the appeals nugatory, whether it was in the best interests of the children to stay an order for an expert's report, and whether it was appropriate for the father to cross-examine witnesses outside the framework of the final hearing.

Watts J reasoned that a stay of the orders would not render the appeals nugatory, nor was it in the best interests of the children to grant a stay of the order for the expert's report. His Honour also determined that it was not appropriate for the father to pursue cross-examination of witnesses outside the established process of the final hearing. Consequently, the father's applications were dismissed.

The court ordered that the father's application for a stay of the orders made on 20 May 2015 and 1 March 2016 be dismissed. Further, the father's application filed on 14 April 2016 was also dismissed.