Many interesting issues have arisen in the current litigation
involving former Attorney-General, Christian Porter.
The underlying story is of course the one that gets the most
headlines. But there are important lessons here for anyone who is
regularly involved in litigation, especially where a party wants to
utilise documents it has previously obtained in a separate
litigation.
The principle
In short, anyone who wants to go down that path should think
twice (or more) about doing so.
The principle was clearly stated by the High Court in Hearne
v Street (2008) 235 CLR 125, where it said, "when one
party to the litigation is compelled, either by reason of a rule of
court, or by reason of a specific order of the court, or otherwise,
to disclose documents or information, the party obtaining the
disclosure cannot, without the leave of the court, use it for any
purpose other than that for which it was given unless it is
received into evidence".
