Kable and DODD

The case of *Kable and DODD* concerned an application by the plaintiffs, Kable and DODD, for an order that the defendant, the Commissioner of Police, be restrained from commencing or continuing proceedings against them in the Local Court. The plaintiffs sought to prevent the Commissioner from prosecuting them for alleged breaches of the *Firearms Act 1996* (NSW).

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Commissioner of Police, as the prosecuting authority, was bound by the terms of a settlement agreement previously entered into between the plaintiffs and the Commissioner. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the settlement agreement precluded the Commissioner from initiating or pursuing criminal proceedings for offences that were alleged to have occurred prior to the agreement.

The Court reasoned that the settlement agreement, properly construed, did not operate as a perpetual bar to prosecution for all future or past offences. It found that the agreement was intended to resolve specific matters and did not extend to an undertaking by the Commissioner to refrain from prosecuting any and all breaches of the *Firearms Act*, regardless of when they occurred. The Court applied principles of contract interpretation and the public interest considerations inherent in criminal prosecutions, noting that the Commissioner retains a discretion to prosecute in the public interest.

The application for an injunction was dismissed.