Director of Public Prosecutions v SC

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) brought a reference appeal to the Supreme Court of New South Wales concerning a question of law arising from a criminal proceeding. The DPP sought to challenge a decision made in the lower court.

The central legal issue before the Supreme Court was whether the court had jurisdiction to entertain the DPP's reference appeal, specifically whether the question of law identified by the DPP arose at or in relation to the proceeding subject to the reference appeal, and whether the court's role extended to considering an alleged error of law.

The Court determined that the jurisdiction conferred by section 37S of the *Supreme Court Act 1970* (NSW) in relation to reference appeals requires the applicant to identify a question of law that arises at or in relation to the proceeding. The Court found that the question of law presented by the DPP did not meet this threshold, and therefore, the Court's jurisdiction was not invoked. Consequently, the Court could not consider the substance of the DPP's proposed appeal. The application was dismissed.