Federal Court of Australia
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
Ashby v Commonwealth of Australia (No 2) [2012] FCA 766 Citation: Ashby v Commonwealth of Australia (No 2) [2012] FCA 766
Parties: JAMES HUNTER ASHBY v COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA and PETER SLIPPER
File number: NSD 580 of 2012
Judge: RARES J
Date of judgment: 13 July 2012
Catchwords: EVIDENCE – privilege – journalist's privilege – journalist's assertion of privilege under s 126H(1) of the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) – where journalist asserts that he or she is not compellable to produce a document in answer to a subpoena under ss 126H(1) and 131A – whether document falling within the ambit of a subpoena discloses, or enables to be ascertained, the identity of a person who provided information to the journalist in the expectation of confidentiality – where party issuing subpoena has not applied to the Court to exercise its discretion under ss 126H(2) or 131A(1A) to override journalist's privilege on public interest grounds Held: under s126H(1), a journalist is not compellable to produce a document that would disclose, or enable to be ascertained, the identity of the journalist's informant as the source of the particular information for which the informant sought confidentiality – no such privilege exists if the informant's identity as the journalist's source of the particular information has already been disclosed or is able to ascertained
Legislation: Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) ss 126G, 126H, 131A Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) ss 17(4) and 50 Official Secrets Act 1920 (UK)
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