Shafron v Australian Securities and Investments Commission

Shafron v Australian Securities and Investments Commission concerned a joint application by the parties for consent orders to be made by a single judge of the Court of Appeal of New South Wales. The High Court had previously remitted questions of penalty and costs in civil penalty proceedings under the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth) to the Court of Appeal for determination.

The central legal issue before the single judge was whether a single judge of the Court of Appeal possessed the power to make consent orders in circumstances where the High Court had remitted specific matters for determination. This involved considering the scope of a single judge's powers in civil penalty proceedings and the implications of the parties reaching an agreement on penalty and costs after a High Court referral.

Barrett JA noted that the High Court's remittal of penalty and costs to the Court of Appeal meant that those matters were now within the Court of Appeal's jurisdiction. His Honour observed that the Court of Appeal, and by extension a single judge of that Court, had the power to make orders, including consent orders, in the exercise of its jurisdiction. The judge's reasoning was grounded in the general powers of the Court of Appeal to deal with matters remitted to it, and the established practice of courts making consent orders when parties have reached an agreement.

Ultimately, Barrett JA referred the joint application for consent orders to a designated bench of three judges of the Court of Appeal, with a view to those orders being dealt with on the papers.