Parker v Comptroller-General of Customs

The appellant, Parker, appealed to the High Court of Australia following a decision of the Court of Appeal of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the admissibility of documents seized by officers of the Comptroller-General of Customs under a warrant issued pursuant to section 214 of the *Customs Act 1901* (Cth). The warrant authorised the seizure of documents relating to a single bottle of brandy, but officers seized documents pertaining to "other goods" imported within the preceding five years.

The central legal issues before the High Court were whether the appellant had been denied procedural fairness by the Court of Appeal, and whether the seizure of the five-year documents was relevant to the exercise of discretion under section 138 of the *Evidence Act 1995* (NSW). Specifically, the Court considered whether the Court of Appeal erred by adopting the reasoning of a previous District Court decision, *O'Neill*, without affording the appellant an opportunity to make submissions on that point, and whether this omission prejudiced the appellant's case. The Court also examined the scope of principles respecting procedural fairness in curial proceedings and whether an appellate court is required to provide such an opportunity when considering a non-binding prior decision.

The majority of the High Court reasoned that while the Court of Appeal's approach to the *O'Neill* decision was not ideal, it did not occasion a denial of procedural fairness or prejudice to the appellant. The Court noted that the *O'Neill* decision had been considered and departed from by other courts, and that the appellant had ample opportunity to argue the substantive issues regarding the scope of the warrant and the application of section 138 of the *Evidence Act*. The majority found that the seizure of the five-year documents was not a wilful disregard of the Act, and that the discretion under section 138 was correctly exercised by the lower courts.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.