Mohareb v Palmer

Mohareb (the applicant) sought leave to appeal from interlocutory judgments of the District Court of New South Wales, presided over by Basten JA and Sackville AJA in the Court of Appeal. The dispute concerned the applicant's allegations of perjury and contempt of court against the respondent, and the District Court's refusal to prosecute the respondent for perjury or refer the alleged contempt to the Supreme Court. The applicant also alleged bias and hostility on the part of the primary judge.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the findings of fact made by the primary judge were open to her, whether the primary judge had impermissibly determined that contempt had been committed, and whether the issues raised were of general public importance. This was the applicant's third application concerning substantially similar issues.

The Court found that the primary judge's findings of fact were open to her. It was also determined that the primary judge had not impermissibly determined whether contempt had been committed, but rather had made findings of fact that led to the conclusion that there was no basis for a prosecution for perjury or a referral for contempt. The Court concluded that the issues raised were not of general public importance, particularly given the repetitive nature of the applications.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal refused the application for leave to appeal from the District Court's orders made on 30 May 2017 and ordered that the applicant pay the respondent's costs in the Court of Appeal.