Hamzy v NSW Commissioner of Police

The New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an application for leave to appeal brought by Bassam Hamzy against the NSW Commissioner of Police. The dispute concerned the refusal of an adjournment by the primary judge, which Hamzy argued prevented him from reviewing potentially privileged communications and filing submissions in support of his claim for privilege. This refusal led to the dismissal of his application and the potential entry of privileged material into the public domain.

The Court was required to determine whether the primary judge erred in refusing the adjournment, thereby impacting Hamzy's ability to properly advance his claim for legal professional privilege. A further issue was whether the primary judge should have recused himself due to alleged bias. The central question revolved around the utility of granting leave to appeal, particularly in light of the circumstances surrounding the alleged privileged material.

Bell P and Emmett AJA reasoned that the primary judge had been given the impression that submissions supporting the claim for privilege were well advanced, an impression that was apparently incorrect as those submissions were never filed. The judge may have also assumed Hamzy had reviewed the materials, which was also apparently not the case. Given that the potentially privileged material had entered the public domain as a result of the dismissal of the application following the refusal of the adjournment, the Court found there was no utility in granting leave to appeal. The Court also found no issue or error of principle regarding the refusal to recuse for alleged bias.

Consequently, the application for leave to appeal was refused with costs. The Registrar was directed to forward a copy of the judgment to Bassam Hamzy.