Sitwell & Sitwell

In the case of Sitwell & Sitwell, the wife, an appellant, sought an injunction to prevent her husband from publishing information related to their ongoing property settlement proceedings. The dispute was heard in the Family Court of Australia. The central issue before the court was whether an injunction can be granted to prevent a threatened or anticipated breach of section 121 of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), which deals with the confidentiality of family law proceedings. The trial judge had declined to grant the injunction, reasoning that the protections already provided by section 121 were sufficient.

The court considered whether an injunction merely reiterating the effect of section 121 is necessary or appropriate, except under special circumstances. It was held that, generally, such an injunction is both unnecessary and undesirable. The court then explored what might constitute "special circumstances" that would justify departing from this general principle. In this case, the wife had not demonstrated any special circumstances that would warrant an exception to the general rule. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed as the wife failed to meet the threshold for the issuance of an injunction.

The court's decision reinforces the principle that injunctive relief should not be used merely to reiterate statutory protections unless there are exceptional circumstances. The appeal was dismissed on the basis that the wife had not shown that such circumstances existed in this case.