Criminal law — Evidence — Admissions by accused — Caution — Respondents arrested by casino staff and interrogated by staff prior to arrival of police — Failure by casino staff to caution respondents — Admissions by respondents to casino employees and police — Admissions made to casino staff not sought to be led at trial — Judge excluded admissions made to police — Relevant casino staff employed by casino in capacity relating to ‘the security and surveillance of the casino’ — Whether casino staff ‘investigating officials’ for purpose of the Crimes Act 1958 and Evidence Act 2008 — Whether admissions to casino staff illegally or improperly obtained — Whether subsequent admissions to police tainted by casino staff’s conduct — Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), ss 458, 464(2), 464A, 464C, 464D, 464F — Casino Control Act 1991 (Vic), ss 1, 37(1)(b), 81 — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), ss 90, 135, 137

Words and phrases — ‘investigating official’

Practice and procedure — Set-off — Judgment debts — Where separate judgment debts owing between parties from different proceedings between them — Where each party entitled to costs against the other party in different proceedings — Whether the Court had inherent jurisdiction to set off a judgment debt in one proceeding against judgment debt in other proceeding — Test to be applied

Freedom of Information — Application fee on Freedom of Information request not paid — Whether ‘hardship’ must be determined by the processing agency — Whether request invalid — Whether invalid request founds jurisdiction of Information Commissioner or Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal — Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), s 17

Practice and procedure — Proceeding dismissed by oral order, not authenticated — Reconsideration of reasons after finding relevant obiter dicta in uncited Court of Appeal decision while preparing written reasons — Whether obiter dicta should be followed — Whether order should be recalled

Judgments, orders and declarations — Confiscation — Suspected proceeds of crime — Restraining order — Application to revoke restraint — Onus — Whether no grounds to make order at time of revocation application — Whether authorised officer held suspicion on reasonable grounds — Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth), ss 18, 19, 42, 329, 330, 338

Words and phrases — ‘suspicion’ — ‘reasonable grounds’

Planning and environment — Planning scheme — Heritage overlay — Building permit — Planning permit — Accrued rights — Building permits issued prior to introduction of heritage overlay planning control — Whether building permits created accrued right — Lawfulness of development works without planning permit — Whether development works a ‘use’ — Stonnington Planning Scheme, cl 61.05 (now cl 72.06) — Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic), s 28(2)(e) — Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic), s 6(3)(d)

Statutory interpretation — Amendment of subordinate instrument to extend heritage overlay over property while development works in progress — Whether absence of prior planning control constituted an accrued right — Whether development works a ‘use’ — Stonnington Planning Scheme, cl 61.05 (now cl 72.06) — Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic), s 28(2)(e) — Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic), s 6(3)(d)

Appeal — Civil — Practice and procedure — Application for leave to appeal from a decision of judge of Trial Division to dismiss appeal on question of law — Application for leave to amend grounds to introduce an issue withdrawn before Tribunal

Words and Phrases — ‘development’, ‘right’, ‘use’, ‘work’, ‘works’

Administrative Law — Judicial review — Duty to inquire — Procedural fairness — Whether by not making inquiries medical panel failed to discharge statutory function or to accord procedural fairness — Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic), div 3 of pt 6

Administrative Law — Judicial review — Factual error — When factual error constitutes jurisdictional error — Whether primary judge applied correct principles — Whether no evidence for medical panel’s conclusions — Whether Medical Panel made factual error

Criminal Law — Criminal procedure — Alternative charges — Murder — Statutory murder — Common law murder — Jury returned verdict of guilty of statutory murder after unable to reach verdict on common law murder — Whether charge of statutory murder an available alternative to charge of murder contrary to common law — Whether statutory murder a separate and distinct offence from common law murder — Appropriateness of practice of pleading both murder and statutory murder as separate charges on indictment — Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), s 3A

Contract — Deed of settlement — Bar to further claims — Claim for damages for sexual abuse — Subsequent legislative amendment removing relevant barriers to actions — Commencement of further proceeding — Whether ‘just and reasonable’ to allow further proceeding — Relevant factors — Amount of settlement sum — Lapse of time in issuing proceeding — Setting aside a previously concluded settlement arrangement — Unfair prejudice to defendant — Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), ss 27QD, 27QE

Statutory interpretation — Determining purpose and effect of legislative amendments — Clear and unambiguous terms — Consideration of historical context of legislation — Consideration of extrinsic materials — Retroactive effect of legislation — Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), div 2 of pt IIA — Limitation of Actions (Child Abuse) Act 2015 (Vic), s 4 — Legal Identity of Defendants (Organisational Child Abuse) Act 2018 (Vic), ss 5, 7 — Children Legislation Amendment Act 2019 (Vic), s 32

Words and phrases — ‘just and reasonable’

Administration and probate — Administration of estate — Application for judicial advice by executor — Prospective proceedings — Joint tenancy — Severance — Unregistered transfers of land — Where executor intended to lead further evidence in support of application — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 54.02

Practice and procedure — Trusts and trustees — Application for judicial advice — Disputed facts — Application for summary dismissal — Whether application for advice lacked real prospect of success — Whether application for advice an abuse of process — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), ss 7, 8, 62, 64 — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), rr 23.01, 54.02

Courts and judges — Judge — Bias — Apprehended bias — Recusal application — Refusal to recuse — Statements by Court as to whether legal practitioner had breached overarching obligations — Joinder of legal practitioner as party to proceeding on Court’s own motion — Whether basis for joinder gave rise to apprehended bias — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), s 29(2)(b)

Legal practitioners — Duty to Court — Obligation of candour — Privilege against self-incrimination — Relationship between principles — Where Court required legal practitioner to give ‘full and frank’ explanation of conduct in affidavit — Whether Court could compel legal practitioner to give evidence — Court’s supervisory jurisdiction — Whether within jurisdiction

Statutory interpretation — Whether entity an ‘employer’ — Whether entity a ‘public statutory body constituted under the law’ of Victoria — Rules of Construction Industry Long Service Leave Fund — Practice and procedure — Whether appeal raised a question of law — Whether error of law material — Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1997 (Vic), s 10

Words and phrases — ‘employer’ — ‘public statutory body constituted under the law’

Tort — Contribution — Manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos thermal insulation — Findings of asbestos exposure and causation dependent on inferences drawn from facts of general application — Whether exposure and causation established

Evidence — Exceptions to hearsay — First-hand hearsay — Whether statements made to doctors by unavailable witnesses admissible to prove asbestos exposure — Revival of memory — Reading aloud parts of document — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), ss 32(3), 63(2), 136 and 192(2)

Limitation of Actions — Torts committed before and after 31 December 1971 — Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), s 5(1)(d) — Wrongs Act 1972 (Vic), ss 3, 24(4)

Equity — Contribution — Partners — Coordinate liabilities — Whether equitable contribution subsumed by statutory provisions providing for contribution between tortfeasors — Whether equitable contribution only available in cases where no statutory right of contribution available — Defences — Whether defence of laches available to defeat action commenced within statutory time limit applied by analogy

Judgments, orders and declarations — Enforcement — Charging order — Respondent judgment debtor a beneficiary of discretionary trust of which company was trustee — Applicant sought charging order over shares in trustee company — Where shares had only nominal value — Whether shares had any value beyond their nominal value — Whether shares in trustee amenable to a charging order — County Court Civil Procedure Rules 2018 (Vic), r 73.02

Elections — Victoria — Political parties — Public funding — Political parties in coalition — Single group voting tickets for Coalition (Liberal and National parties) candidates in multi-member Legislative Council regions — Public funding entitlement under Electoral Act 2002 (Vic) paid to Liberal Party in respect of combined group voting tickets — Proposed payment by Liberal Party to National Party pursuant to coalition agreement — Whether payment ‘gift’ and ‘political donation’ under Electoral Act 2002 (Vic) pt 12 — Whether payment ‘consideration in money or money’s worth’ — Whether payment for inadequate consideration — Electoral Act 2002 (Vic), ss 69A, 69B, 151, 206(1), 207F, 211, 212

Words and Phrases — ‘gift’, ‘political donation’, ‘consideration’

Criminal law — Sentencing — Impairment of mental functioning — Severe personality disorder — Sentencing judge constrained by authority from applying Verdins principles — Whether personality disorders can engage Verdins principles — Expert evidence — Causal link with offending — Moral culpability reduced

Trusts — Family discretionary trust — Beneficiaries and objects — Disclaimer of interests in trust deed — Disclaimer by special beneficiaries — Impact on rights and interests of disclaiming individuals’ children — Doctrine of acceleration — Whether impact of disclaimer by interest holder the same as death of interest holder for purposes of doctrine

Trusts — Family discretionary trust — Beneficiaries and objects — Trustee’s power of exclusion — Removal of certain family members as general beneficiaries under trust — Whether exercise of power invalid — Whether exclusion beyond power or for improper purpose

Practice and procedure — Pleadings — Amendment — Application for leave to amend during trial — Where issue sought to be pleaded would have been unavoidable at trial — Whether refusal of leave a miscarriage of discretion