Neilson v Overseas Projects Corporation of Victoria Ltd [2005] HCA 54

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

GLEESON CJ,

McHUGH, GUMMOW, KIRBY, HAYNE, CALLINAN AND HEYDON JJ

BARBARA MARY JOSEPHINE NEILSON APPELLANT

AND

OVERSEAS PROJECTS CORPORATION OF

VICTORIA LTD & ANOR RESPONDENTS

Neilson v Overseas Projects Corporation of Victoria Ltd [2005] HCA 54

29 September 2005

P85/2004

ORDER

1. Appeal allowed with costs.

2. Set aside the orders of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Western Australia made on 3 May 2004 that set aside:

(a) the judgment entered at trial in favour of the plaintiff; and

(b) the order made at trial for her costs.

3. In their place, order that the appeal to the Full Court against the judgment and order entered at trial be dismissed with costs.

On appeal from the Supreme Court of Western Australia

Representation:

B W Walker QC with A S Bell and P Kulevski for the appellant (instructed by Talbot & Olivier)

G Griffith QC with L G De Ferrari and A B Lu for the respondent (instructed by Minter Ellison)

Notice: This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.

CATCHWORDS

Neilson v Overseas Projects Corporation of Victoria Ltd

Private international law – Foreign tort – Choice of law – Appellant was injured in the People's Republic of China – Scope of the lex loci delicti – Where the lex loci delicti treats another connecting factor, such as nationality or domicile, as determining the applicable law – Whether Article 146 of the General Principles of Civil Law of the People's Republic of China was a relevant part of the lex loci delicti – Whether Article 146 of the General Principles of Civil Law of the People's Republic of China made the law of the parties' domicile the applicable law ­– Whether the doctrine of renvoi applies to international tort claims ­– Infinite regression of reference.