Zeltner v Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory heard an appeal concerning the issuing of search warrants under section 187 of the *Drugs of Dependence Act 1989* (ACT). The appellant, Carmen Zeltner, sought to quash two search warrants issued by a Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court, which were used to gather evidence leading to charges against her. The Deputy Registrar was the first respondent, and the informant who applied for the warrants, Callum Jones, was the second respondent. The primary judge of the Supreme Court had dismissed the appellant's application for judicial review and awarded costs to the second respondent.

The central legal issues before the Full Court were whether the Deputy Registrar was required to record reasons for issuing the search warrants, and whether the affixing of the Supreme Court seal to the warrants rendered them decisions of the Court rather than decisions made by the Deputy Registrar *persona designata*. The appellant argued that the failure to record reasons deprived her of procedural fairness and prevented effective judicial review, and that the use of the court seal meant the warrants were issued by the Court itself.

The Court held that there was no statutory or common law basis to imply a requirement for the Deputy Registrar to record reasons when issuing warrants under section 187 of the *Drugs of Dependence Act*. It was also determined that the Deputy Registrar issued the warrants in their capacity as a *persona designata*, not as a judicial officer of the Court. The Court found that mistakenly affixing the Supreme Court seal did not alter the nature of the decision or convert it into a decision of the Court. Consequently, the appeal against the substantive decision was dismissed.

The Court further found no error in the primary judge's exercise of discretion regarding costs. The appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the costs of the second respondent.