Ruhani v Director of Police

Courts – High Court of Australia – Objection to competency – Whether High Court competent to hear and determine appeals from the Supreme Court of Nauru.

Constitutional law (Cth) – Federal judicial power – Original jurisdiction of the High Court – Conferral of jurisdiction on the High Court to hear and determine appeals from the Supreme Court of Nauru – Nauru (High Court Appeals) Act 1976 (Cth) ("the Act") enacted to implement Agreement between Australia and Nauru relating to such appeals – Whether law conferring original jurisdiction on the High Court – Relevance of use of appellate nomenclature in the Act – Relevance of source and identity of rights and obligations to be adjudicated under the Act – Relevance of simultaneous creation and enforcement of rights in the Act – Whether proceedings brought in a matter arising under any law made by Parliament where rights and obligations defined by reference to law of another polity.

Constitutional law (Cth) – Federal judicial power – Appellate jurisdiction of the High Court – Conferral of jurisdiction on the High Court to hear and determine appeals from the Supreme Court of Nauru – Whether the Act confers appellate jurisdiction on the High Court to hear such appeals – Whether such appeals heard by the High Court pursuant to s 73 of the Constitution – Whether s 73 of the Constitution exhaustively defines the appellate jurisdiction of the High Court.

Constitutional law (Cth) – "External affairs" power – Relations of the Commonwealth with the islands of the Pacific – Whether Act validly confers appellate jurisdiction on the High Court in the exercise of legislative power with respect to external affairs or relations of the Commonwealth with the islands of the Pacific.

Practice and procedure – Costs – Motion for indemnity costs – Commonwealth funding respondent's competency objection by way of indemnity arrangement – Commonwealth did not appear in proceedings concerning validity of Commonwealth legislation –Whether Commonwealth liable for costs on an indemnity basis.

Practice and procedure – Motion for joinder – Whether Commonwealth or Republic of Nauru should be joined as a party – Whether High Court may order costs against non-party – Whether High Court should so order in circumstances of the case.

Words and phrases – "appeals", "appellate jurisdiction", "original jurisdiction", "competency".

Constitution – ss 51(xxix), 51(xxx), 73, 75(i), 76(ii).

Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) – s 26.

Migration Act 1958 (Cth) – s 36.

Nauru (High Court Appeals) Act 1976 (Cth) – ss 4, 5.

Nauru Independence Act 1967 (Cth) – s 4.