The Federal Circuit and Family Court says its judges are facing threats of lawsuits from litigants following a landmark decision holding a judge personally liable for wrongly imprisoning a father, prompting some to warn they can no longer hear all cases., Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney held Federal Circuit and Family Court Judge Salvatore Vasta could not rely on a judicial immunity and was personally liable for the man’s false imprisonment in a family law case.
“The court’s experienced and diligent judges are now in an impossible position. At this stage, a small number of judges have today made the difficult decision that there are certain types of cases that they cannot hear, such as where jurisdictional issues may arise. They will otherwise continue to undertake their judicial duties.”
The spokesperson said that “every step is being explored to mitigate the impact on litigants, including the transfer of some cases to superior courts, including [the Family Court division] ... which is not impacted by the immunity issue” but “there are limits to what the court can do as ultimately the solution to this issue is a matter for government”.
Federal Circuit and Family Court Chief Justice Will Alstergren said in a speech to the Australian Bar Association on Thursday that there was an “urgent and compelling need” for the federal government to legislate to provide a statutory immunity “in the same form as enjoyed by nearly every state and territory court in Australia and many of its tribunals and commissions”.
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