R v Clarke

The case involved an appeal by the Crown from a decision of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The respondent, Evan Clarke, had claimed a reward of £1,000 offered by the Government of Western Australia for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for the murders of two police officers. Clarke provided information that led to the arrest and conviction of two individuals for the murder of one of the officers.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether a contract had been formed between Clarke and the Crown. Specifically, the court had to determine if Clarke's actions constituted an acceptance of the Crown's offer, thereby entitling him to the reward. This required an examination of whether Clarke had acted in reliance upon or in response to the offer of the reward when he provided the information.

The High Court, in allowing the appeal, held that for a contract to arise from an offer of a reward, the person claiming the reward must have performed the conditions of the offer acting on the faith of, or in reliance upon, that offer. The court found that the trial judge's finding that Clarke had not acted in reliance on the offer was not to be interfered with. Clarke's own evidence indicated that his primary motivation for providing the information was to extricate himself from a murder charge, rather than to claim the reward. Therefore, there was no acceptance of the offer and consequently no contract.

The High Court reversed the decision of the Full Court of Western Australia and restored the judgment of the trial judge, finding that Clarke was not entitled to recover the reward.