Hopwood & Byrnes v The Queen

Hopwood & Byrnes (the applicants) sought leave to appeal against a decision of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Queensland. The applicants had been convicted of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The dispute concerned the admissibility of certain evidence obtained by the Australian Federal Police during an investigation.

The primary legal issue before Gummow J was whether the evidence, which included documents and information obtained from overseas, was admissible in the Australian criminal proceedings. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the manner in which the evidence was obtained, particularly in light of undertakings given to foreign authorities, rendered it inadmissible in Australia.

Gummow J applied the principle that Australian courts will not admit evidence obtained in breach of an undertaking given to a foreign government, even if the evidence would otherwise be admissible. His Honour found that the evidence in question had been obtained in circumstances where undertakings had been given to authorities in the United States, and that the admission of such evidence would be contrary to the public interest and the comity of nations. Consequently, leave to appeal was refused.