AB v CD (Australia)

"AB v CD" redirects here. For the UK labour law case, see AB v CD (UK).

AB v CD; EF v CD
CourtHigh Court of Australia
Full case name AB (a pseudonym) v CD (a pseudonym); EF (a pseudonym) v CD (a pseudonym)
Decided5 November 2018
Citation[2018] HCA 58
Court membership
Judges sittingKiefel CJ, Bell, Gageler, Keane, Nettle, Gordon & Edelman JJ
Case opinions
special leave to appeal revoked
(per Kiefel CJ, Bell, Gageler, Keane, Nettle, Gordon & Edelman JJ)

AB v CD; EF v CD is a decision of the High Court of Australia.

The decision is notable for revealing the 'Lawyer X' scandal to the Australian public. At issue was the use of the criminal barrister Nicola Gobbo as a secret informant by the Victorian Police.

Gobbo's assistance as an informant enabled a large number of prosecutions by the Victorian Crown; especially against organised criminals.[1] Her assistance was in breach of numerous legal duties she owed to her clients.

In its reasons, the High Court declared that the public interest in maintaining the anonymity of police informants was outweighed by the public interest in disclosing the details of what had occurred. In its view, the 'agency of police informer' had been 'so abused as to corrupt the criminal justice system'.[2] The High Court therefore revoked special leave and affirmed the Court of Appeal's judgement.[3]

Details of the case became public one month after the judgement.[4] This ignited significant public debate, especially due to concerns that following the judgement, numerous convictions related to the Melbourne gangland killings and other organised crime would be expunged.[5] Following calls for a public inquiry, Daniel Andrews the Premier of Victoria announced in December 2018 the creation of the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants to investigate the scandal.[6]

  1. ^ "Melbourne gangland lawyer explains why she became a police informant". www.abc.net.au. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ AB v CD [2018] HCA 58 at para. 13
  4. ^ "The Travesty in the Background to AB (a pseudonym) v CD (a pseudonym); EF (a pseudonym) v CD (a pseudonym): JB v The Queen | Opinions on High". 10 December 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Gangsters, cops and Lawyer X: the police informant scandal that has shocked Australia". the Guardian. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Gangland driver to be first murderer to appeal over Lawyer X". www.heraldsun.com.au. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2020.