Re The Honourable Justice Sir Gerard Brennan, a Justice of the High Court sitting as a Court of Disputed Returns & Anor; Ex parte Muldowney

The proceeding involved an application for writs of certiorari and prohibition brought by Patrick Kevin Muldowney against Sir Gerard Brennan, a Justice of the High Court sitting as a Court of Disputed Returns, and the Australian Electoral Commissioner. Mr. Muldowney sought to challenge a decision made by Justice Brennan in his capacity as a Court of Disputed Returns. The Attorney-General of the Commonwealth intervened in the proceedings.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the jurisdiction exercised by a Justice of the High Court when sitting as a Court of Disputed Returns under Commonwealth electoral legislation was vested in the individual Justice *personae designatae* or in the High Court itself. This distinction was crucial for determining the appropriate forum for appellate review of such decisions, particularly in light of existing High Court precedent.

The court considered submissions regarding the nature of the judicial power involved, with the Solicitor-General for the Commonwealth suggesting that the Full Court of the High Court would likely be the appropriate forum to consider the issue. This was influenced by prior decisions such as *Holmes v Angwin* and *Hilton v Wells*, which dealt with similar questions in the context of state electoral disputes. The court noted the difficulty in distinguishing these precedents and the potential for the matter to be more appropriately heard by a Full Court rather than a single Justice, especially given that the Justice's prior view in *Hilton v Wells* had been a dissenting one.