El-Zayet v The Queen

The appeal before the Court of Appeal was brought by the respondent, the Attorney-General for the Commonwealth, against a decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal. The Court of Criminal Appeal had found that the appellant, El-Zayet, was not liable for certain costs incurred by the Crown in connection with his criminal trial. The primary legal issues were whether the Court of Appeal had jurisdiction to hear the appeal from the decision under the Costs in Criminal Cases Act, and if the decision was interlocutory in nature. Additionally, the court examined whether the Court of Criminal Appeal had jurisdiction to hear the appeal, and if the decision was interlocutory.

The court first considered the jurisdictional issues, determining that the Court of Appeal did not have jurisdiction to hear the appeal from the decision under the Costs in Criminal Cases Act. The court found that the decision was interlocutory and did not constitute a final determination of the costs issue. The court also determined that the Court of Criminal Appeal had jurisdiction to hear the appeal and that the decision was indeed interlocutory. Regarding the privilege issues, the court found that the appellant had not waived his client legal privilege as there was no conduct that was plainly inconsistent with the maintenance of confidentiality. The court concluded that there was no implied or apparent authority to waive privilege.

The court ultimately dismissed the appeal, finding that the Court of Criminal Appeal had correctly exercised its jurisdiction in relation to the interlocutory decision. The court held that the decision was not a final order and, as such, the appeal was not receivable by the Court of Appeal. Consequently, the appellant's appeal was dismissed, and the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal was upheld.