Mayor, Councillors and Citizens of the City of Collingwood v State of Victoria and Anor

The applicant, the Mayor, Councillors and Citizens of the City of Collingwood, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Supreme Court of Victoria. The dispute concerned the validity and effect of the Victoria Park Land Act 1992 (Vic), which the applicant argued interfered with the judicial process. The first respondent was the State of Victoria, and the second respondent, the Collingwood Football Club Ltd, indicated it would abide by the Court's determination.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Victoria Park Land Act 1992 (Vic) impermissibly interfered with the administration of justice by retrospectively altering the substantive rights of the parties and preventing the Supreme Court from determining a pre-existing action brought by the Council. The applicant contended that the Act was a directive measure designed to override judicial review of agreements between the Council and the Club, thereby removing the possibility of those agreements being upset by a court decision.

The applicant argued that the Act's purpose, as stated in its preamble and section 1, was to provide by force of law for the implementation of arrangements between the Council and the Club, and to give legal effect to those arrangements. This, it was submitted, was intended to prevent the Supreme Court from adjudicating on the Council's claim that no binding agreements had been entered into. However, the Chief Justice questioned this submission, suggesting that the Act merely altered substantive rights rather than directly interfering with the judicial process.