He, Ex parte Re Lewin & Ors

This matter concerned an application by He for leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Victoria. The dispute arose from proceedings in the Supreme Court concerning the administration of the estate of the late Mr Lewin. He sought to challenge the Supreme Court's refusal to grant him leave to appeal to that court against an earlier decision of a single judge of the Supreme Court.

The primary legal issue before Hayne J was whether the applicant, He, had demonstrated that the proposed appeal to the High Court had a reasonable prospect of success, as required by section 35A of the *Judiciary Act 1903* (Cth) for an application for special leave to appeal. This involved considering whether the Full Court of the Supreme Court had erred in its assessment of the merits of the appeal before it, and whether that assessment itself raised a question of law suitable for determination by the High Court.

Hayne J observed that the applicant had not identified any specific error in the Full Court's reasoning. Instead, the application for special leave appeared to be a broad challenge to the Full Court's conclusion that the appeal to that court lacked merit. His Honour noted that the High Court does not grant special leave to appeal merely because a party is dissatisfied with a decision, but rather where there is a question of law that warrants the High Court's attention. Without a clear articulation of such a question, or a demonstrable error in the Full Court's reasoning that gave rise to such a question, the threshold for special leave would not be met.

The application for special leave to appeal was dismissed.