Griffith v John Fairfax Publications (No. 2)

This matter concerned an application to vary an earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal of New South Wales. The applicant, Griffith, sought to amend paragraph 56(g) of the judgment delivered on 20 October 2004, which had been made in proceedings between Griffith and John Fairfax Publications (No. 2).

The central legal issue before the court was whether to permit an amendment to the orders previously made. Specifically, the court had to determine if the existing wording of paragraph 56(g) accurately reflected the court's intention and if the proposed alteration was necessary to give effect to that intention.

The court, comprising Sheller and Tobias JJA and Young CJ in Eq, acceded to the application. The reasoning was that the original wording of paragraph 56(g) contained a manifest error, mistakenly referring to the "first and second respondents" when the intention was to refer to the "appellants". The court applied the principle that it has the power to correct clerical mistakes or errors arising from an accidental slip or omission in its judgments or orders to ensure they accurately reflect the court's determination.

Accordingly, the court ordered that paragraph 56(g) of the judgment of 20 October 2004 be varied by deleting the words "first and second respondents" and inserting in lieu the word "appellants".