Pirone v Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth)

The applicant, Pirone, sought judicial review of a decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) to refuse to grant a certificate of no objection to the applicant's application for a licence under s 12 of the *Crimes (Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act 1985* (Cth). The Director's refusal was based on the applicant's prior convictions for drug offences. The matter came before Brennan CJ in chambers.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) had acted unlawfully in refusing to grant a certificate of no objection to the applicant's licence application. This involved determining whether the Director's decision was vitiated by an error of law, specifically whether the Director had failed to take into account relevant considerations or had taken into account irrelevant considerations in reaching their decision.

Brennan CJ found that the Director's refusal was based on a misinterpretation of the relevant statutory provisions. The Chief Justice held that the Director had erred in law by treating the applicant's prior convictions as a mandatory bar to the grant of a licence, rather than as a factor to be considered in the exercise of discretion. The Court emphasised that the Director's role was to assess whether the applicant posed a risk to the public interest, and that this assessment required a careful consideration of all relevant circumstances, not merely the existence of past convictions. The Chief Justice concluded that the Director had failed to exercise their discretion according to law.

The Court ordered that the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) be restrained from acting upon the decision to refuse the certificate of no objection, and that the matter be remitted to the Director for reconsideration according to law.