Federal Court of Australia
Federal Court of Australia
Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited (No 40) [2022] FCA 1614 File numbers: NSD 1485 of 2018 NSD 1486 of 2018 NSD 1487 of 2018
Judgment of: BESANKO J
Date of judgment: 30 March 2022
Date of publication of reasons: 1 June 2023
Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE — claim for damages in three proceedings for defamation — imputation that the applicant murdered or was involved in the murders of Afghan males under control or containment during the war in Afghanistan — respondents (newspaper companies and journalists) rely on defences of justification (s 25 Defamation Act 2005 (NSW)) and contextual truth (s 26 Defamation Act 2005 (NSW)) — respondents subpoena soldiers said to be involved in the murders — soldiers claim privilege against self-incrimination under s 128 of the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) — whether reasonable grounds for objection — soldiers unwilling to give evidence even with the benefit of a certificate PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE — consideration of whether the soldier witnesses should be required to give evidence under s 128(4) of the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) — consideration of whether Court satisfied that evidence does not tend to prove that a witness has committed an offence against or arising under a law of a foreign country — meaning of a "law of a foreign country" in s 128(4)(a) — relevance of risk of action being taken by International Criminal Court PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE — consideration of factors relevant to "interests of justice" under s 128(4)(b) — proper and just determination of the proceeding — seriousness of the offence in respect of which privilege against self-incrimination claimed — interest of witness in the proceeding — forensic disadvantage to witness in being required to give evidence — possible incomplete protection of a certificate — risk of action being taken by International Criminal Court — relevance of effect on reputation of witness — effect on health of witness
We try to embed the page this law was scraped from. If the site blocks framing, you still get the link and a local excerpt.
Last checked with source on —
Checking whether the official page can be embedded…
Plain-English simplify of this law: a short summary, key points, and both sides of the argument. Generated on first view via Replicate, then cached. Vote on what helps your study.
No study brief is cached for this law yet. Sign up to generate a plain-English brief.
Sign up to generate