Secretary to the Department of Justice v XQH

The Secretary to the Department of Justice sought leave to appeal a decision, but failed to file the notice of appeal within the prescribed time. The applicant applied for an extension of time, arguing the matter was of significant public interest. The court was required to determine whether the applicant should be required, as a condition for granting the extension of time, to undertake to pay the respondent’s costs of the appeal in any event.

The court considered the relevant statutory provisions and case law on the power of the court to extend time. The court noted the importance of the principle that appeals should be decided on their merits and that the public interest was not a sufficient ground for extending time. However, the court also recognised that in some cases, the public interest may be a relevant consideration in determining whether to grant an extension of time. The court concluded that in this case, the public interest was not a sufficient ground for extending time, but that the applicant's undertaking to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal in any event was a relevant consideration. The court granted the applicant leave to appeal, but required the applicant to undertake to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal in any event as a condition of the extension of time.

The court ordered that the applicant must file the notice of appeal within 14 days of the date of the judgment and undertake to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal in any event. The court also ordered that if the applicant failed to file the notice of appeal within the prescribed time, the application for leave to appeal would be dismissed.