Sankey V Whitlam

{{Infobox court case , name=Sankey v Whitlam , court=

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

, image=Coat of Arms of Australia.svg , date decided=9 November 1978 , full name=Sankey v Whitlam & Ors , citation
(1978) 142 CLR 1
HCA 43] , judges= Harry Gibbs, Gibbs ACJ, Stephen,

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

Jacobs Jacobs may refer to: Businesses and organisations *Jacob's, a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers in Ireland and the UK *Jacobs (coffee), a brand of coffee * Jacobs Aircraft Engine Company, former American aircraft engine compan ...

& Aickin JJ , prior actions=Sankey v Whitlam (1977) 1 NSWLR 333 , subsequent actions=none , opinions= (4:1) the documents were not subject to privilege and should be produced (per Gibbs ACJ, Stephen, Mason & Aickin JJ) (4:0) it is the responsibility of the courts to decide whether or not it is in the public interest to protect documents from disclosure (per Gibbs ACJ, Stephen, Mason & Aickin JJ) (5:0) the allegations of an offence under the Crimes Act 1914 were bad in law (per curiam) ''Sankey v Whitlam'' was an important court

case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods), a package of related merchandise * Cartridge case or casing, a firearm cartridge component * Bookcase, a piece of furniture used to store books * Briefcase or attaché case, a narrow box to c ...

decided in the

on 9 November 1978. On 20 November 1975, during the election campaign which followed the dismissal of the Whitlam government, a Sydney solicitor, Danny Sankey, initiated a private prosecution against

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

Rex Connor Reginald Francis Xavier "Rex" Connor (26 January 190722 August 1977) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1963 to his death, representing the Labor Party. He was the Minister for Minerals ...

, Lionel Murphy and

Jim Cairns James Ford Cairns (4 October 191412 October 2003) was an Australian politician who was prominent in the Labor movement through the 1960s and 1970s, and was briefly Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam government. He is best re ...

. The prosecution related to the alleged unlawful conduct of the accused in relation to their participation in the so-called ' loans affair'. Two charges were laid against each defendant. The first alleged that the loan proposal would have contravened the Commonwealth-State Financial Agreement of 1928. The second alleged that the defendants had conspired to deceive the Governor-General in the performance of his duties. The prosecution went through numerous preliminary steps in the

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...

Magistrates' Court before Stipendiary Magistrate Darcy Leo, including appeals to the NSW Court of Appeal, before it reached a stage which brought it before the High Court. On 9 November 1976, Sankey subpoenaed Executive Council and Loan Council documents for production before the Magistrate. The Fraser government objected to produce these documents, arguing that they were confidential and were subject to 'crown privilege'. This claim was upheld by the Magistrate. The matter went on appeal to the NSW Court of Appeal. The appeals were removed to the High Court. At all relevant times during the prosecution one of the defendants, Lionel Murphy, was a Justice of the High Court. Justice Murphy did not sit as part of the Court to hear the appeal from the Magistrate's ruling. The High Court overruled the magistrate and held that the documents should be produced before the Magistrate. However, the Court also ruled that the charge alleging contravention of the Financial Agreement was bad in law, and dismissed that charge. The lasting significance of the Court's ruling was that it imposed a very narrow view of when a government could claim 'crown privilege', finding that even cabinet documents were not exempt from production before the courts. High Court of Australia cases Australian constitutional law 1978 in Australian law 1978 in case law November 1978 events in Australia History of the Australian Labor Party