Hawkins v the Commonwealth of Australia

Hawkins (the applicant) sought a writ of prohibition against the Commonwealth of Australia (the respondent) to prevent the respondent from proceeding with a prosecution against the applicant. The applicant was charged with offences under the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth). The High Court of Australia was required to determine whether the prosecution was validly commenced.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the prosecution had been instituted in accordance with the requirements of section 13 of the *Crimes Act 1914* (Cth), which stipulated that a prosecution for an offence against the Act could only be instituted by the Attorney-General or by a person authorised in writing by the Attorney-General. The applicant contended that the prosecution had not been properly instituted as the necessary authorisation was absent or defective.

The Court considered the nature of the authorisation required under section 13 and the circumstances under which a writ of prohibition could be granted. It was held that the prosecution had been validly instituted, and therefore the applicant was not entitled to a writ of prohibition. The Court's reasoning focused on the interpretation of the statutory provisions governing the institution of prosecutions and the scope of the Court's supervisory jurisdiction.

The application for a writ of prohibition was dismissed.