Obeid v The Queen

The applicant, Obeid, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from orders of the Court of Criminal Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The Court of Criminal Appeal had dismissed Obeid's appeal from a single judge's refusal to quash an indictment or permanently stay criminal proceedings against him. Obeid also applied to the High Court for a stay of the criminal proceedings pending the determination of his special leave application. In this context, Obeid applied for a non-publication order concerning information that might reveal his identity.

The central legal issue before Gageler J was whether a non-publication order should be made pursuant to s 77RE of the *Judiciary Act 1903* (Cth) to prevent the publication of information tending to reveal the identity of the applicant. This question arose in the specific procedural context of applications for special leave to appeal, a stay of criminal proceedings, and the non-publication orders themselves.

Gageler J reasoned that a non-publication order was necessary to prevent prejudice to the proper administration of justice. The court exercised its power under s 77RE(1)(a) of the *Judiciary Act 1903* (Cth) to make such an order. The order prohibited the publication of information tending to reveal the applicant's identity in relation to the special leave application, the application to stay the trial proceedings, and the application for non-publication orders.

The non-publication order was made effective until 11 March 2016. The order also granted liberty to either party, or any person listed in s 77RG(2) of the *Judiciary Act*, to apply by summons and supporting affidavit for a variation of the order on or before that date.