Gillies, In the matter of an application for leave to issue or file

Max Perry Gillies applied to the High Court of Australia for leave to issue or file an application for special leave to appeal. This application followed a direction by Gageler J that the Registrar refuse to issue or file Mr Gillies' special leave application without first obtaining the leave of a Justice of the High Court. The underlying special leave application concerned a decision of Beech-Jones J of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, who had refused Mr Gillies' application under section 78 of the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) for an inquiry into his 1990 and 2006 convictions for sexual offences.

The legal issue before the High Court was whether Mr Gillies' application for special leave to appeal from the decision of Beech-Jones J involved an exercise of judicial power, a prerequisite for an appeal to the High Court under section 71 of the Constitution. Mr Gillies had argued that Beech-Jones J erred in refusing his section 78 application, alleging he was pressured into pleading guilty in 1990, maliciously prosecuted in 2006, and that trial transcripts were tampered with. Beech-Jones J had found no reason to doubt the voluntariness of the guilty plea in 1990 or the evidence supporting the 2006 conviction.

The High Court determined that an application made under section 78 of the Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) constitutes an exercise of administrative power, not judicial power, as confirmed by section 79(4) of the Act and established case law. Consequently, an appeal from such a decision to the High Court is not competent. The Court noted that while Mr Gillies' proposed application sought writs of certiorari and mandamus, it was neither in form nor substance an application for constitutional writs, and even if treated as such, it would have no reasonable prospects of success.

Accordingly, the application for leave to issue or file the application for special leave to appeal was dismissed. The Court determined the matter on the papers without an oral hearing.