Minister for Immigration & Ethnic Affairs v Quan, R.G.

Case [1994] FCA 991


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JUDGMENT No. ........ ........ ..

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NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION

FEDERAI. COURT OF AUSTRALIA

NEW SOUTH WALES REGISTRY

No NG 327 of 1994

GENERAL DIVISION

BETWEEN:

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION AND

ETHNIC AFFAIRS

Applicant

AND:

RU GUANG QUAN

and OTHERS

Respondent

CORAPI:

SACKVILLE J.

PLACE :

SYDNEY

DATE :

6 DECEMBER 1994

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

HIS HONOUR: In this matter I order that the application be

dismissed, the applicant to pay the respondent's costs, and I

publish my reasons. Copies of that will be made available.

RECORDED

NOT TRANSCRIBED

HIS HONOUR: I have prepared and published reasons in this

matter. A notice of motion has been filed on behalf of the respondents who have succeeded before me in any event. That notice of motion which has been filed in Court today seeks orders

that the first and second respondents be referred to as Respondent A and Respondent B respectively. I assume that is intended to mean that they be referred to in that form in any publication of the Court's reasons.

The notice of motion also seeks an order that there be no publication of the identity of either the first or second respondents or anything that would tend to identify them. M r Gerogiannis, who appears on behalf of the respondent, initially sought an order that the reasons that I published today be

'confined to the parties. I do not think that that is an

appropriate order. The Court has dealt with the matter and has

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published reasons. Subject to the question of identification,

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it seems to me that the published reasons ought to be available.

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' However, although I am by no means convinced that the appropriate

order will be that the identity of the respondents be suppressed in any publication of the reasons, on an interim basis and particularly having regard to the attitude of the applicant, I

am prepared to make orders. Those orders will be until 5 pm on

Wednesday, 14 December 1994, and I will list the matter at 9.30

am on Wednesday, 14 December to deal with the issue.

The orders that I make are these: that in any publication of the reasons for judgment in this matter or any account of the case, the first and second respondents should be identified only as Respondent A, and Respondent B, respectively. I further order that in any publication relating to the reasons for judgment or

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any account of the case that there be no matter published which identifies either the first or second respondents nor anything which would enable them to be identified. That is a matter, I should make clear, that affects of course not only the parties but anybody outside the parties or their representatives who would seek to publish an account of the case or of the reasons for judgment that have been delivered.

I certify that this and the preceding 2 pages are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Justice

Sackville. 1

, .

Associate: A - h . F

/

*

Dated: 16 December, 1994

Heard:

6 December, 1994

Place:

Sydney

Decision:

6 December, 1994

Appearances:

MS J. Hall of the Australian Government

Solicitor appeared for the applicant.

M r Gerogiannis of the Legal Aid Commission

of N.S.W. appeared for the first and second

respondents.

Details
AGLC
Minister for Immigration & Ethnic Affairs v Quan, R.G. [1994] FCA 991
Case
[1994] FCA 991
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Quan, R.G. was heard in the Federal Court of Australia, New South Wales Registry. The matter involved an application by the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs against Ru Guang Quan and others, concerning immigration-related matters. The court was required to address issues pertaining to the anonymity of the respondents and the publication of the reasons for judgment.

The central legal issue was whether the identities of the respondents should be suppressed in any publication of the court's reasons for judgment. The court also needed to decide if the respondents could be referred to by pseudonyms in any published accounts of the case. The Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs argued against the suppression of the respondents' identities, while the respondents sought anonymity to protect their privacy and potentially avoid repercussions in their home country.

The court, presided over by Sackville J, decided that while the reasons for judgment should remain available to the public, the identities of the respondents should be protected. This decision was made on an interim basis due to the applicant's stance and to allow for further consideration of the matter. The court ordered that the respondents should be referred to as Respondent A and Respondent B in any published reasons or accounts of the case, and that no information that could lead to their identification should be disclosed. This order was to remain in effect until 5 pm on 14 December 1994, when the matter was to be revisited to determine if the order should be made permanent.

Orders

Orders of the court

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Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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