Kentwell v The Queen

In *Kentwell v The Queen*, the High Court of Australia considered an application for an extension of time to appeal against a sentence imposed in the Court of Criminal Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The applicant sought to appeal against the sentence, but the application for leave to appeal was filed outside the prescribed time limits.

The High Court was required to determine the principles governing the grant of an extension of time for an appeal against sentence, specifically whether the applicant must demonstrate that refusal would occasion a substantial injustice, the relevance of the principle of finality, and the importance of the prospects of success on the substantive appeal. The Court also considered the principles applicable to an appellate court's power to re-exercise sentencing discretion, particularly where an error of the kind identified in *House v The King* has been established, and whether the appellate court must form a positive opinion that some other sentence is warranted in law before intervening.

The High Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the order of the Court of Criminal Appeal made on 14 November 2013. The matter was remitted to the Court of Criminal Appeal for determination of the application for an extension of time. The Court's reasoning, though not detailed in the provided text, would have involved an application of the established principles for granting extensions of time and the criteria for appellate intervention in sentencing.