Registrar of the Court of Appeal v Maniam

The Registrar of the Court of Appeal sought to strike out an appeal by Mr. Maniam on the grounds that it was frivolous and vexatious. The dispute arose from Mr. Maniam's attempt to appeal a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which had dismissed his application for leave to appeal against a prior judgment. The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether Mr. Maniam's proposed appeal was an abuse of process, specifically whether it was frivolous or vexatious, such that it should be struck out. This involved considering the nature of the grounds of appeal and whether they had any reasonable prospect of success.

The Court found that the grounds of appeal raised no arguable points of law and were entirely without merit. It was evident that the appeal was not brought in good faith but rather for the purpose of causing annoyance and embarrassment to the respondent. The Court applied the principle that an appeal that is frivolous or vexatious constitutes an abuse of process and should be summarily dismissed.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal ordered that the appeal be struck out as frivolous and vexatious.