Licha v Joseph

The applicants sought judicial review of a decision by the District Court of New South Wales, which had dismissed their appeals against applications for interim apprehended personal violence orders. The applicants contended that the District Court had erred in making costs orders against them, alleging a mistake in the statutory source of power relied upon by the court.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the District Court had fallen into jurisdictional error by making the costs orders, and whether the court had misidentified the relevant statutory provisions, specifically ss 99 and 99A of the *Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007* (NSW) and s 28(3) of the *Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001* (NSW).

The Court of Appeal found that the District Court had not erred in its exercise of power to make costs orders. It determined that the relevant statutory provisions, particularly s 28(3) of the *Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001* (NSW), conferred the necessary authority on the District Court to make such orders in the context of appeals from decisions concerning apprehended personal violence orders. The court concluded that the applicants had failed to demonstrate any jurisdictional error.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal dismissed the applicants' second further amended summons and ordered that the applicants pay the respondents' costs of the proceeding.