Pervan v The North Queensland Newspaper Company Limited

George Anthony Pervan sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Queensland. The dispute concerned the publication of defamatory material by The North Queensland Newspaper Company Limited. Pervan argued that the case raised important questions regarding the construction of section 377(8) of the Queensland Criminal Code and the administration of justice.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether the words "fair comment" within section 377(8) of the Queensland Criminal Code incorporated the common law requirement that the facts upon which the comment is based must be true. Pervan contended that this was a question of general importance warranting the granting of special leave for resolution.

The applicant's argument focused on the interpretation of the statutory defence of fair comment. Pervan submitted that the common law requirement of factual truth for comment to be considered "fair" should apply, particularly given that the defendant newspaper company led no evidence to justify its publication. This raised a question about the onus of proof and the scope of the defence under the Criminal Code.