Shaw, In the matter of an application for leave to issue or file

Brian William Shaw applied to the High Court of Australia for leave to issue or file a writ of summons and statement of claim seeking extensive relief. This application followed a direction by Gageler J in 2017 that the Registrar refuse to issue or file the document without the leave of a Justice. The applicant now sought that leave, nearly two years after the initial direction.

The court was required to determine whether the applicant had an arguable basis for the wide variety of relief sought in the statement of claim. This relief included declarations that the most recent Commonwealth election be declared invalid, that criminal issues be remitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria for Grand Jury indictments based on alleged lack of jurisdiction, that the originating application be stayed pending jury rulings, and that the statement of claim be submitted to both Houses of Parliament. Alternative and additional relief sought included the suspension of various judicial and governmental office holders.

The court dismissed the application under rule 13.03.1 of the High Court Rules 2004 (Cth). His Honour found that, after reviewing all the accompanying material, there was no arguable basis for any of the relief sought by the applicant. Consequently, the application for leave to issue or file was refused without an oral hearing.