Peters and Peters and Ors

In *Peters and Peters and Ors*, the New South Wales Supreme Court, Equity Division, considered the standing of parties to apply for declarations of contravention and compensation orders under the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth). The case involved an application by a liquidator, which raised questions about who is empowered to seek such declarations and orders.

The central legal issue before the Court was to determine the correct interpretation of sections 1317E and 1317J of the *Corporations Act 2001*, specifically concerning which parties have standing to apply for a declaration of contravention and a compensation order. The Court was required to ascertain whether a corporation or its liquidator could apply for a declaration of contravention, or if such applications were exclusively reserved for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

The Court's reasoning, drawing on previous decisions in *One.Tel Limited (In Liquidation) v John David Rich and Ors* and *Scott Darren Pascoe (as liquidator of Charter Workforce Pty Ltd) v Divisional Security Group Pty Ltd and Ors*, clarified that section 1317J(1) of the *Corporations Act 2001* grants ASIC the exclusive right to apply for a declaration of contravention. Section 1317E, while requiring the court to make a declaration if satisfied of a contravention, operates in conjunction with section 1317J(1) and is therefore contingent on an application being made by ASIC. Consequently, neither a corporation nor its liquidator possesses the standing to apply for a declaration of contravention under section 1317E.