22 In the satellite proceedings the claimant claimed an order that persons named "show cause why not be held in contempt of the Supreme Court of NSW" and that certain of them who were lawyers "show cause why not be taken of the list of practising solicitors/barristers of the Supreme Court of NSW." Accompanying the Notice of Motion were documents which were or purported to be statements of charges for contempt of court. The persons who were subject to the application for orders to show cause included the fourth opponent the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church, the fifth opponent Qantas Airways Ltd, and six lawyers and four law offices or law firms which had represented opponents in various ways. On 18 July 2005 Grove J. dismissed the motion, for reasons stated at length. His Honour also made orders relating to payment of costs of respondents to the motion, and made this order:
(e) Subject to the order by Smart AJ granting leave to apply to amend his statement of claim, the plaintiff is restrained from filing further motion in these proceedings against any of the respondents to the Notice of Motion filed on 20 June 2005 or bringing fresh proceedings against any of those respondents without leave of the Court first being obtained.
23 The order is still in effect and restrains applications in the proceedings in the Common Law Division.
24 Grove J.'s reasons gave a history of the proceedings in the Common Law Division and two related proceedings including an application disposed of by McClellan J on 14 December 2001 in which the claimant and his brother sought to prosecute 17 defendants on charges to similar effects. After reviewing the statements of charge his Honour expressed views in various ways to the effect that the charges were not supported, and referred to recklessness in seeking orders against legal practitioner respondents. His Honour said "this motion is highly misconceived". His Honour said:
48 I am satisfied that there is reasonable apprehension that, unless restrained, the plaintiff will institute further baseless claims against the respondents. The conduct of the plaintiff and his brother at the hearing was fortifying of the conclusion that such an apprehension would be harboured. It is sought that any such order extend also to the plaintiff's brother, who assisted him not only at the hearing, but, it was conceded by the plaintiff, in preparing the matters that were brought before the Court. I do not regard it as appropriate to make any order regarding Oliver Markisic, bearing in mind my view that restraint should be limited to these particular proceedings in which Oliver Markisic is not a party.
25 The claimant sought to file Notice of Appeal but the Registrar declined to file the document, being of the view that there was no right of appeal. On 24 August 2005 the claimant filed a Notice of Motion seeking to set aside the Registrar's decision. That Notice of Motion came before the Registrar on 19 September 2005 and was struck out as an abuse of process. The claimant then filed an Ordinary Summons for leave to appeal on 2 November 2005, which came before the Court of Appeal on 23 May 2006 and was dismissed on 16 June 2006 - [2006] NSWCA 149. The Court of Appeal was of the view that there was no right of appeal from the judgment of Grove J. regardless of the question of leave. See para [33] and see also Markisic (Oliver) v The Commonwealth [2006] NSWCA 150 at [7] to [12].
26 In my view, upon reading the judgment of Grove J., there were manifestly no grounds upon which that judgment could be challenged on appeal, if there had been any available right of appeal. The reasons of Grove J. showed fully that there was no substance in the attempts to prosecute a number of persons for contempt. The first to fifth opponents were involved in the satellite proceedings, and in the attendances at court and in preparation for and conduct of the hearing of the appeal, altogether needlessly. They obtained several orders for costs, but these orders are ineffective as the claimant told me on several occasions and in several contexts that he is without significant resources and can not meet the orders for costs.
27 The claimant contended that he had not been given an opportunity to prepare submissions in reply in those of Ms Hartstein, counsel for the first and second opponents, because she gave him copies of case law to which she referred when she was putting her submissions (and not earlier), and that Mr Sexton SC counsel for the fifth opponent "did the same thing". A later inquiry showed that Mr Sexton had given to Mr Markisic a copy of written submissions he proposed to put before me about the time I came into court, which was about 10:35 a.m. The claimant told me that he needed time to look at the case law and make submissions; I interpreted this as a contention that I should adjourn the proceedings. On Monday 19 February I heard a number of applications which were referred to me by the Registrar, as well as the present applications which I had adjourned from 29 January. After I heard counsel for the first and second opponents for some time I turned aside for about one hour to hear and dispose of other applications of greater urgency; and then returned to the present application. There was ample time after 29 January to the claimant to inform himself about relevant case law and any other matter of preparation for the hearing; it was for his assistance and not in compliance with any order or direction that counsel gave him written material they proposed to use in the hearing and an opportunity to see what it said. The claimant also complained that he had not been provided in advance with the history of the proceedings to which counsel referred me. The claimant has had much experience in conducting court hearings in person. I was satisfied that there was no unfairness and it was appropriate to continue the hearing and not to adjourn it.
28 The claimant pointed out that he had had some successes, and referred to the arrangement for service on the sixth, seventh and eighth respondents in the appeal to be accepted which was made at the hearing before Handley JA on 19 June 2006. In my view this minor success does not assist the claimant. If it was appropriate to join these respondents in the application for leave to appeal, he could have done so in the first place and asked the Australian Government Solicitor to accept service on those who were officers of the Commonwealth. In any event it was altogether clear that they had the immunity available for judges and counsel in the conduct of litigation, and there was no purpose in joining them in the proceedings in the Court of Appeal.
29 The claimant also pointed out that Handley JA had granted him an extension of time to file the White Book. He submitted that it was open for him to ask the Court for legal steps to be taken, and whether he was successful or not those steps were not an abuse of process. He contended that the contempt proceedings before Grove J. were not relevant and went on to contend that he brought the contempt proceedings to protect the authority of the Court. He also submitted that the order for costs on the indemnity basis which had been made by the Court of Appeal on 23 November 2006 was enough punishment, and that any more would be excessive, and that the opponents were making undue use of the situation that he lost on 29 January 2007 when two notices of motion were dismissed. He contended that he had sometimes been successful, sometimes unsuccessful, and that the orders now sought were going in the direction of preventing him from being successful in the proceedings, in which he believed that he would be ultimately successful. He said that the orders sought would be oppressive punishment and were unnecessary.
30 The proceedings have involved superfluous complexities. Interlocutory applications have typically involved correction of procedural failures by the claimant. Involvement of the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth opponents in the Court of Appeal proceedings can be seen with hindsight to have been altogether futile, and with the benefit of the reasons of the Court of 23 November 2006 it should be said that there never was any reasonable prospect of obtaining any remedies against them. Indeed, the reasons of Smart AJ also show this. The burden placed on each has been increased by the involvement of other superfluous respondents. Their involvement has increased the burden imposed on the second and third opponents, who are affected by the remedy which the claimant obtained on appeal, to the very limited extent of that remedy.
31 The history of the present proceedings and of the satellite proceedings, and particularly the interlocutory applications which the claimant has made in them, including two of the interlocutory applications he has made since judgment was given, show in my opinion that there have been abuses of the processes of the Court in his making a number of insubstantial, unnecessary and misconceived applications. There have also been useless complexities and unproductive attendances which the claimant could and should have avoided by conducting business with timely efficiency. There have been many of them. The burden imposed on the opponents of dealing with these applications, preparing to meet them and attending court on numerous occasions has become an oppression and injustice which the Court should not allow to continue. A control of the kind which have already been imposed on the Common Law Division should now be imposed in the present appeal proceedings.
32 The order I will make is modelled on the orders in Hillston v Bar-Mordecai and Wentworth v Graham & Anor.
33 My orders are: