Plaintiff S193-2018 v The Judges of the Federal Court of Australia & Anor

The High Court of Australia heard an application for an order to show cause filed by Plaintiff S193/2018 against the Judges of the Federal Court of Australia and the Minister for Home Affairs. The plaintiff sought various forms of relief concerning a previous decision by Justice Edelman to remit the matter to the Federal Court. The Minister sought the dismissal of the proceedings on the basis that they no longer had utility due to a fresh decision made by the Minister.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the plaintiff's application for an order to show cause, which challenged a prior procedural decision, should be dismissed because a subsequent, substantive decision by the Minister had rendered the original application moot. The court was also required to consider the appropriate orders regarding costs in light of the circumstances.

The Court reasoned that the plaintiff's application for an order to show cause was directed at Justice Edelman's decision to remit the matter to the Federal Court. However, a subsequent decision by the Minister on 5 April 2019, made under s 501A of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), had set aside an earlier Administrative Appeals Tribunal decision and refused the plaintiff's protection visa application. This new decision was not before the Court and would require separate proceedings to litigate. Consequently, the Court found that the original application for an order to show cause no longer had utility. Applying the principle that there should be no order as to costs in such circumstances, the Court dismissed the application.