Kuru v State of New South Wales

The case of Kuru v State of New South Wales involved a dispute over the legality of police entry and continued presence on private premises. The plaintiff, Mr Kuru, alleged trespass by police officers who entered his suburban flat following a report of a domestic disturbance. While initially invited to "look around," Mr Kuru subsequently requested the police to leave, which they did not immediately do. The matter ultimately reached the High Court of Australia, with the primary issue being whether the police officers' continued presence on the premises after being asked to leave constituted trespass.

The High Court was required to determine two main legal issues. Firstly, it had to consider the proper construction of sections 357F and 357H of the *Crimes Act 1900* (NSW) to ascertain whether an express refusal by an occupier to consent to police remaining on the premises immediately terminated their authority to do so, irrespective of the purpose for which entry was initially effected. Secondly, the Court needed to assess whether there was any common law justification for the police to remain on the premises, specifically in relation to preventing a breach of the peace.

The Court reasoned that while the police officers' initial entry might have been justified by consent, their continued presence after Mr Kuru's repeated requests to leave could not be justified under the *Crimes Act* or at common law as preventing a breach of the peace. The Court rejected a construction of the legislation that would allow an occupier to revoke police authority to remain in circumstances where officers were undertaking actions such as preventing severe haemorrhaging or making a lawful arrest, as this would be an unreasonable outcome. However, in this specific factual scenario, the police had remained on the premises for longer than was reasonably necessary to leave after consent was withdrawn, and their actions were not directed towards preventing an imminent breach of the peace. Consequently, the High Court allowed the appeal, setting aside the orders of the New South Wales Court of Appeal and remitting the matter for further consideration on specific grounds.