A record of recent High Court of Australia cases: decided, reserved for judgment, awaiting hearing in the Court’s original jurisdiction, granted special leave to appeal, refused special leave to appeal and not proceeding or vacated

1: Cases Handed Down
2: Cases Reserved
3: Original Jurisdiction
4: Special Leave Granted
5: Cases Not Proceeding or Vacated
6: Special Leave Refused

Summary of New Entries

1: Cases Handed Down

Case	Title
Google Inc v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission	Consumer Law
Commissioner of Police v Eaton and Anor	Jurisdiction

2: Cases Reserved

Case	Title
Plaintiff M79 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship	Citizenship and Migration
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v Li and Anor	Citizenship and Migration
Yates v The Queen	Criminal Law
Leo Akiba on behalf of the Torres Strait Regional Seas Claim Group v Commonwealth of Australia & Ors	Native Title
Castle Constructions Pty Limited v Sahab Holdings Pty Ltd & Anor	Property
Beckett v The State of New South Wales	Torts

3: Original Jurisdiction

Case	Title
Plaintiff S138 v Director-General of Security	Citizenship and Migration/Administrative Law

4: Special Leave Granted

Case	Title
Agius v The Queen	Criminal Law
Jason Lee (aka Do Young Lee) & Anor v New South Wales Crime Commission	Criminal Law/Constitutional Law
Dunrobin v The Queen	Criminal Law

1: Cases Handed Down

The following cases were handed down by the High Court of Australia during the February 2013 sittings.

Consumer Law

Google Inc v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission S175/2012: [2013] HCA 1.

Date heard: 11 September 2012.

Coram: French CJ, Hayne, Heydon, Crennan and Kiefel JJ.

Catchwords:

Trade practices – Misleading or deceptive conduct – Search engine operator displayed "sponsored links" on search results page – Sponsored links created by or at direction of advertisers – Sponsored links comprised advertising text which directed users to web sites of advertisers' choosing – Whether search engine operator engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by publishing or displaying sponsored links which contained misleading representations made by advertisers – Whether search engine operator adopted or endorsed misleading representations.

Words and phrases – "adoption", "endorsement", "intermediary", "misleading or deceptive conduct", "misleading representation".

Appealed from FCA (FC): [2012] FCAFC 49.

Return to Top

Jurisdiction

Commissioner of Police v Eaton and Anor

S230/2012: [2013] HCA 2.

Date heard: 11 October 2012.

Coram: Heydon, Crennan, Kiefel, Bell and Gageler JJ.

Catchwords:

Jurisdiction – Subject matter jurisdiction – Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales ("IR Commission") – Probationary police officer dismissed by Commissioner of Police under s 80(3) of the Police Act 1990 (NSW) – Probationary police officer applied to IR Commission under s 84(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW) claiming dismissal was harsh, unreasonable or unjust – Whether IR Commission has jurisdiction under Pt 6 of Ch 2 of the Industrial Relations Act to determine unfair dismissal claim regarding dismissal under s 80(3) of the Police…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading High Court Bulletin

Details

AGLC: High Court Bulletin [2013] HCAB 1
Case: [2013] HCAB 1
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Google Inc v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the High Court considered whether Google engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by displaying "sponsored links" on its search results page. The Court concluded that Google did not engage in such conduct as it did not adopt or endorse the misleading representations made by advertisers. In Commissioner of Police v Eaton and Anor, the High Court examined whether the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales had jurisdiction to determine an unfair dismissal claim regarding a probationary police officer dismissed under the Police Act 1990. The Court held that the Commission did not have jurisdiction, as the specific provisions of the Police Act took precedence over the general provisions of the Industrial Relations Act.

The High Court's decisions in these cases provide clarity on the scope of misleading or deceptive conduct in the context of search engine operators and the jurisdictional boundaries between different Acts in the area of employment law. These rulings will have implications for businesses operating in these sectors and for individuals seeking to assert their rights under consumer protection and employment legislation.

Orders