Jamal v State of New South Wales

In *Jamal v State of New South Wales*, the applicant sought an extension of time to file a notice of appeal from a decision of the Appeal Panel of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal. The notice of intention to appeal was filed out of time, and the subsequent summons seeking leave to appeal was filed shortly after the expiry of the time limit, with service only effected a month after filing. The respondent argued that the delays were unexplained and that it would suffer prejudice.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether to grant the applicant an extension of time to file the notice of appeal, and whether the summons seeking leave to appeal, which was not timeously filed and served, should be struck out. Central to these determinations were the considerations of whether the applicant had a fairly arguable case and whether the respondent would suffer prejudice from any further delay.

The Court dismissed the application for an extension of time, finding no sufficient explanation for the applicant's delays in filing both the notice of intention to appeal and the summons seeking leave to appeal, nor for the subsequent delay in service. The Court applied the principles governing extensions of time, which require a demonstration of a fairly arguable case and consideration of prejudice to the respondent. In this instance, the lack of explanation for the delays and the potential for prejudice led to the refusal of the extension. Consequently, the summons seeking leave to appeal was struck out. The applicant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs.