John Fairfax & Sons Limited & Anor v Conjuanco

The case of John Fairfax & Sons Limited & Anor v Conjuanco was heard in the High Court of Australia. The dispute concerned an application made by the respondent, Mr. Conjuanco, for an order requiring the appellant, John Fairfax & Sons Limited, to disclose the identity of the author of an article published in one of its newspapers.

The central legal issue before the High Court was the proper application of rules, specifically Part 3 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which governs orders for the discovery of the identity of newspaper article authors. The court was required to consider whether a "special circumstances" exception applied to such orders and, if so, what constituted such circumstances, drawing upon historical legislative provisions and case law from both Australia and England.

The court's reasoning, as indicated by the submissions, involved an examination of the historical development of rules allowing for the identification of anonymous authors, including provisions that predated the Defamation Act 1974. The submissions highlighted that while historically courts referred to a "special circumstances" exception, the precise nature of these circumstances remained elusive in case law. The court also considered the procedural aspects, noting that applications under these rules are typically made ex parte, but that in this instance, notice was given due to the perceived importance of the matter, leading to a specific test formulated by the judge of first instance that placed the onus of proof on the respondent.