Salim & Hakim

In the matter of *Salim & Hakim*, Foster J of the Family Court of Australia considered objections raised by the applicant wife to two subpoenas issued by the respondent husband. The dispute concerned the wife's objections to subpoenas directed to the National Bank of Australia Ltd and a company identified as B Ltd.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the Registrar's prior orders dismissing the wife's objections to these subpoenas were correct, and in particular, the proper application of principles relating to the apparent relevance of documents sought by subpoena in family law proceedings. The court was required to determine the extent to which the documents sought by the husband were relevant to the proceedings and whether the objections to their production should be upheld.

Foster J's reasoning involved a review of the principles governing the issuance and objection to subpoenas, focusing on the requirement of apparent relevance. The court found that the subpoena to the National Bank of Australia Ltd was sufficiently relevant to the proceedings, and therefore dismissed the wife's objection to it, granting the husband's legal representative leave to inspect the produced documents but without permission to photocopy them. Conversely, the court upheld the wife's objection to the subpoena directed to B Ltd, finding it lacked apparent relevance, and accordingly struck out that subpoena and ordered the return of any documents produced.