The chronology of events from arrest to the July Hearing
81 The extradition arrest warrant for Mr Pauga was issued on 14 July 2020. Mr Pauga was arrested on 20 August 2020 in Queensland. After his arrest, Mr Pauga was taken to the Brisbane Watch House.
82 The affidavit of Mr Finlayson dated 11 January 2021 sworn in support of the First Application (Finlayson Affidavit) described the arrest warrant as a warrant within the meaning of s 15(1) of the Extradition Act. Further, for reasons that I gave on 24 January 2022 no issue as to the validity of the arrest warrant or the actions of the arresting officer arises in these proceedings: Pauga v Chief Executive of Queensland Corrective Services [2022] FCA 244. The statement of grounds made no such allegation. Therefore, evidence as to what occurred in relation to the arrest of Mr Pauga by a federal police officer and his delivery into custody at the Brisbane Watch House is not relevant to the case as presented at the final hearing.
83 It is significant for present purposes to note that while he was being transported to the Brisbane Watch House, Mr Pauga telephoned Mr Finlayson. Shortly after that, Mr Finlayson sent an email to the Registry of the Magistrates Court of Queensland at Brisbane in which he said:
I act for Tala Pauga who has just been arrested on an extradition warrant and whom I am informed is being brought before the Brisbane Magistrates Court.
The arresting officer has indicated that the hearing may occur by video or telephone.
I wish to co-ordinate being heard at any hearing.
Today I am in Adelaide.
84 A court clerk sent a response to Mr Finlayson by email. It said 'I will try to and arrange either a phone or video link for you to appear when the matter is mentioned'.
85 On 20 August 2020, there was a hearing before Acting Magistrate Byrne in respect of Mr Pauga. It is common ground that Mr Pauga was not physically present before the learned Magistrate and remained in the Brisbane Watch House.
86 The transcript of the hearing indicates that at 1.00 pm Mr Finlayson, who was then in Adelaide, was telephoned from a court room where his Honour was sitting. Mr McKechnie announced his appearance as counsel instructed by the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department on behalf of Samoa. The Magistrate then addressed Mr Finlayson in the following terms:
Mr Finlayson, thank you for your appearance. This is Brisbane Magistrates Court 2. I've had the advantage of being informed by Mr McKechnie of the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department that you have come to a mutual agreement that this matter is to be re-mentioned in early September; is that correct?
87 Mr Finlayson responded 'That's correct'. After some discussion as to the precise time and court room for the re-mention, Mr McKechnie then said:
… I don't want to speak out of turn, but I understand that my friend might be considering making a bail application. If that's the case, then it may be a number of hours. If it is just a case of setting further directions for the timetabling of the matter, then 10 minutes - - -
88 The Magistrate indicated that to be safe the matter would be listed for two hours and it would be 'an extradition hearing' and Mr Finlayson then said that it would be 'by the telephone'. Then the Magistrate asked:
All right. And it's by consent that the defendant's going to be remanded in custody and appear by video?
89 Mr McKechnie then responded 'Yes', a response to which Mr Finlayson did not demur. Then Mr Finlayson said: 'Your Honour, we also seek liberty to apply for bail in the interim, if we need to foreshadow that'.
90 Mr Finlayson was not informed that Mr Pauga was not present at the hearing on 20 August 2020. He has deposed to a personal belief that Mr Pauga had been brought and was physically present before the magistrate throughout that hearing. He was not cross-examined and it was not suggested that the statement of belief should not be accepted.
91 On 20 August 2020, a bench charge sheet was brought into existence and allocated a court file number (Charge Sheet). It is in a standard form. It is headed 'Magistrates Court of Queensland at: Brisbane'. It contains the details of Mr Pauga and identifies its short title as 'Arrest for the purposes of international extradition under the Extradition Act 1988 (Cth)'.
92 Endorsed on the Charge Sheet in handwriting are the appearances of Mr McKechnie and Mr Finlayson. There is also an endorsement using what appears to be a stamp plus handwriting which is in the following terms:
By consent, the Defendant is remanded to appear in Court 18 at am/pm on 3/9/2020 for / committal / mention / P of G / hearing extradition
Bail / on own undertaking / enlarged
RIC Appear / by video / in person LOP / excused
93 The options for 'mention', 'hearing extradition', 'RIC Appear' and 'by video' are circled. The word 'extradition' has been added in handwriting. Plainly, the abbreviation 'RIC' refers to remanded in custody. Underneath the above endorsements is a signature which appears above 'P J Byrne'. In the Finlayson affidavit it is described as the signature of Acting Magistrate Byrne.
94 There are subsequent endorsements in handwriting on the Charge Sheet. They are described below.
95 Mr Finlayson deposed to the fact that the details of the order made on 20 August 2020 were entered into the Queensland-Wide Interlinked Court System or QWIC database. The evidence to that effect was not challenged and is accepted.
96 A document headed 'Verdict and Judgment Record' (First Form 44) was also produced dated 20 August 2020. It was identified as Form 44, Rule 62 Criminal Practice Rules. It identified the Judicial Officer as 'P Byrne (Acting Magistrate)'. Under the heading 'Chg Offence' it said 'Extradition Warrant'. It then referred to the relevant provision of the Extradition Act for an extradition arrest warrant. Under the heading 'Date of Offence' it said 'On 20/08/2020' being the date of arrest. It referred to that date as the 'Plea Date' and under the heading 'Verdict/Result' said 'ADJOURNED'.
97 Then under the heading 'Judgment or Order of the Court' the First Form 44 referred to the case file number and stated:
REMAND IN CUSTODY - Conviction not applicable
It is ordered that the defendant be remanded in custody
…
It is ordered that the proceedings for TALALELEI PAUGA be adjourned for HEARING to COURT 18 - 363 GEORGE STREET, MAGISTRATES COURT at BRISBANE on 03/09/2020 at 09:00 AM.
The defendant's personal appearance is required by video link.
98 The First Form 44 was signed 'PROPER OFFICER' and a seal was affixed for 'MAGISTRATES COURT BRISBANE'. Similar records in the same form were produced for subsequent appearances.
99 A few days later, on 24 August 2020, Mr Pauga was taken to the Correctional Centre. It appears that the First Form 44 was relied upon as the basis for his detention at the Correctional Centre. Subsequent Form 44 documents in similar terms were produced after each further hearing before a Queensland magistrate and were treated as the basis for his ongoing detention. Eventually, after the July Hearing, the Warrant of Committal became the basis upon which Mr Pauga continued to be held in the Correctional Centre.
100 On 2 September 2020, a registrar sent an email in the following terms to Mr Finlayson:
I understand you currently act for Mr Pauga on his extradition matter listed before Brisbane Magistrates Court tomorrow, 3 September 2020.
Can I please confirm whether you require your client by videolink tomorrow, 3 September 2020.
Thank you in advance for your urgent clarification in this matter.
101 Mr Finlayson responded with an email in the following terms:
Yes we do require our client's attendance.
It would assist also if there were some indication of the time when the mater (sic) is likely to be called on.
102 As to this communication, Mr Finlayson deposed:
On 2 September 2020, I emailed Registry of the Brisbane Magistrates Court confirming that I required my client's attendance before the Court for the hearing the next day.
His statement is somewhat inaccurate when regard is had to the emails. In particular, he neglects to refer to the reference to 'videolink'.
103 On 3 September 2020, Mr Pauga's matter was called on before Magistrate Gilbert. After Mr McKechnie announced his appearance for Samoa, he noted that Mr Pauga was going to be appearing by video link and Mr Finlayson was dialling in. The learned Magistrate then said:
There might be some difficulty with that video link actually taking place, and Mr Finlayson has indicated that he did want Mr Pauga to appear on the video link. We're waiting for confirmation due to the restrictions on video links taking place. I might just see if my clerk can [confirm?] that Mr Pauga won't be produced on the video link today. We should alert Mr Finlayson to that.
104 When the matter resumed, Mr Mancini announced his appearance as counsel for Mr Pauga and noted that Mr Pauga was not present but was in custody at the Correctional Centre and after referring to problems in being able to speak to Mr Pauga sought an adjournment for a short period 'to have him appear'. The Magistrate then inquired whether Mr Mancini meant appear by video link. Mr Manini responded 'Whether by video link or -yes, yes'. The Magistrate then indicated the difficulties with securing video links and said there was no guarantee that it would take place on the next occasion.
105 Mr Mancini then responded:
… otherwise, your Honour, we were going to seek an adjournment for a period of four weeks, but we - I don't want to leave it [in?] limbo for that period of time.
106 After raising with counsel their availability, the Magistrate then said:
With respect to the matter of Talalelei Pauga, the matter is adjourned for an extradition hearing to take place on the 11th of September 2020, in court 18. We'll nominate 9 am. The defendant, Mr Pauga, is to appear by video link on the next occasion and I order a letter of production for his appearance by video link on the next occasion. He is otherwise remanded in custody. Anything further required?
107 In response to the question from the Magistrate, Mr Mancini indicated that they would 'like to obtain a copy of the documents on the court file and can we just do a request in a copy from the registry' (sic). The Magistrate confirmed that could be done.
108 There is an endorsement on the charge sheet dated 3 September 2020 which appears to state:
Adjourn for extradition hearing 11/9/2020
Court 18 9 am
LOFP by V/C on the next occasion
To consider if appearance by deft necessary on next occasion
RIC
109 The endorsement is signed above the notation 'R Gilbert'.
110 The hearings on 24 August 2020 and 3 September 2020 coincided with a period when 'lock downs' were occurring and restrictions on movement had been imposed as precautions to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
111 On 11 September 2020, the matter was called on before Magistrate Gilbert. Mr McKechnie indicated that he had spoken to Mr Finlayson and he was authorised to communicate for both parties that an adjournment was sought until 18 September 2020 because Mr Finlayson was still unable to get complete instructions and that Samoa consented to the adjournment. After a further exchange with Mr McKechnie, the Magistrate then said:
So I'll adjourn it to 18 September 2020, mention, court 19 in the Commonwealth call over at 9 am. Defendant's remanded in custody. Appearance - well, I'm just wondering whether to make his appearance required by video.
112 Mr McKechnie responded that Mr Finlayson had indicated that he did not require appearance at that occasion. He said that he assumed that what will happen is that if Mr Finlayson has instructions there will be a timetable for a bail application, 'exchange of materials and evidence and find a suitable date for hearing'. There was no suggestion that the communications by Mr McKechnie to the Magistrate on 11 September 2020 did not reflect matters that had been agreed with Mr Finlayson.
113 There is a notation on the Charge Sheet which records a consent adjournment to 9.00 am on 18 September 2020 for mention. It records that the defendant did not appear and the defendant is remanded in custody and an appearance is not required for the next hearing. It appears to record that Mr Pauga was remanded in custody.
114 Mr Finlayson deposed that:
On 12 September 2020, I was instructed by Mr Pauga for the first time, that, since his arrest he had not been brought before a magistrate, had not appeared by audio visual before a magistrate and had not been attended upon in custody by a magistrate at the hearings conducted on 20 August 2020, 3 September 2020 and 11 September 2020.
115 Of course, expressed in those terms, the statement does not reflect the full extent of the events up until that time and the nature and extent of Mr Finlayson's knowledge from participating in those events.
116 Nevertheless, on 14 September 2020, Mr Finlayson wrote to the Chief Executive asserting that there was no lawful authority for the detention of Mr Pauga by reason of various matters, including an alleged failure to comply with s 15(1) and (2) of the Extradition Act.
117 On 18 September 2020, Mr Pauga's matter came before Magistrate Gett. On that occasion Mr Mancini appeared for Mr Pauga and applied for his release. He put the nature of the application in the following terms:
It's an application to your Honour as persona designata under the Extradition Act and it's on the basis ultimately that his detention from the day of his arrest is unlawful or irregular. And so rather than take habeas corpus and declaratory relief under the Human Rights Act your Honour's the first for the court.
118 Mr Mancini pressed his application for immediate hearing on the basis that it concerned the liberty of Mr Pauga and submitted that 'liberty of the subject takes priority over the administrative functions of the state'. He also advanced a submission to the effect that, because the hearing was not a court hearing, privacy should be preserved by having any hearing not open to the public. He also maintained that there was a requirement for Mr Pauga to appear in person irrespective of any order that might be made and that was because the magistrate was acting as a persona designata and not making any orders as a court.
119 The magistrate indicated that any application would have to be heard at a later time and that the matter would be adjourned to 21 September 2020. Mr Mancini persisted with a submission that Mr Pauga was required to be present in person at that hearing and the magistrate ordered a letter of production.
120 On 21 and 22 September 2020 there was a hearing before Magistrate Merrin during which Mr Mancini presented numerous contentions as to why Mr Pauga was alleged to be unlawfully detained. When the matter was first called on, Mr Pauga was not present despite a letter having been issued requiring his personal appearance. The matter was adjourned for a short time and arrangements made for Mr Pauga to be brought to the Queensland Magistrates Court. The hearing proceeded with Mr Pauga being physically present. The contentions advanced by Mr Mancini in support of the application included claims that Mr Pauga had not been physically brought before a magistrate after his arrest as required by the Extradition Act and submissions based upon the significance of Magistrate Byrne being an acting magistrate in the context of magistrates acting as persona designata in extradition matters. Mr Pauga was remanded in custody at the end of the hearing on 21 September 2020 and was physically brought before the magistrate the following day. At the conclusion of submissions Magistrate Merrin reserved her decision and remanded Mr Pauga in custody.
121 In the course of the hearing, those acting for Mr Pauga also filed a separate originating application seeking a declaration under the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) that Mr Pauga's detention was unlawful and an order for his release.
122 On 25 September 2020, Mr Pauga was again brought before Magistrate Merrin. Her Honour gave reasons dismissing the application made in the extradition proceedings for the release of Mr Pauga. At the conclusion of delivery of the reasons Mr Mancini was asked whether there was any application for bail and he said that there was no bail application. At that point an oral application was made for Samoa in the following terms:
Your Honour, in those circumstances Samoa formally applies for proceedings to be conducted pursuant to section 19 of the Act. That is the next stage of the proceedings to determine Mr Pauga's eligibility for surrender. What would usually happen is that those proceedings are timetabled with the exchange of materials and submissions.
123 Mr McKechnie as counsel for Samoa then pointed out the terms of s 19 of the Extradition Act and submitted that there was a jurisdictional prerequisite that the parties have had enough time to prepare. He indicated that Samoa could file its material and submissions by 16 October 2020 and after allowing time for material from Mr Pauga proposed a hearing on about 16 November 2020. Mr Mancini sought a remand for 60 days which was declined. In response to a statement from Magistrate Merrin to the effect that, having regard to the detailed submissions had already been given, Mr Mancini must be familiar with the process and must have expected that the matter would need to proceed if his claim that Mr Pauga should be released was unsuccessful, Mr Mancini then made the following submission:
Not at all your Honour. Not at all. Please don't assume that I have firstly, that knowledge; and secondly that the ordinary courtesy of notification by the other side can be simply dispensed with. I would like to consider my client's position, obtain instructions about the application and about anything further, and before anything further is done, and including the disqualification of your Honour from making any order today, we would ask for a remand and adjournment to consider our position.
124 After further submissions, Magistrate Merrin confirmed with Mr McKechnie that he was bringing the application for proceedings to be conducted under s 19 of the Extradition Act. Mr Mancini persisted with a recusal application in respect of the making of any timetabling orders for the purposes of the s 19 application. The recusal application was refused and Magistrate Merrin said:
So all I am saying, Mr Mancini, is I am going to make a direction for you to be provided with material so that you can then respond on the next occasion to the Court and advise them how much time you might need and the matter can be set for hearing, because whoever presides at the hearing, which will not be me - I will recuse myself from the hearing, I have no difficulty with that, will need to be satisfied that you've had sufficient time that's as set out in section 19, subsection (1), subparagraph (d).
125 Then a direction was made requiring Samoa to file and serve material and submissions by 16 October 2020 and otherwise adjourning the matter. Mr Mancini then pressed the magistrate to identify the source of the power to make the direction. Magistrate Merrin responded:
Mr Mancini, I am making these directions, and, as I see it, as persona designata I'm permitted to make directions, make decisions in accordance with proper processes to allow the matter to proceed, and, as I see it, upon application by here - Samoa - I need to consider what to do in those circumstances, so adjourned to - which date did you suggest? Perhaps to 30 October. To court 20 on 30 October, at 9 am. Mr Pauga is remanded in custody and is to appear by video link. it's just intended the matter's only for mention on that date … So Mr Pauga is remanded in custody. His appearance is by video link.
126 Thereafter, an application was made in the Supreme Court of Queensland to remove the application under the Human Rights Act into the Supreme Court.
127 On 16 October 2020, Samoa filed and served its written submission and material that it relied upon in relation to the hearing to be conducted under s 19 of the Extradition Act concerning the eligibility of Mr Pauga for surrender. Those acting for Samoa sent an email to Mr Finlayson which said:
We refer to the above matter and to the submissions served earlier today by Samoa regarding your client's eligibility for surrender under section 19 of the Extradition Act 1988 (Cth).
For your assistance, we advise that, at the next mention on this matter on 30 October 2020, Samoa intends to seek further timetabling orders to prepare for the hearing on eligibility for surrender.
In particular, Samoa intends to propose that:
• the Respondent file and serve submissions and material that he intends to rely upon by 13 November 2020 (noting that this is one month from service of our submissions and material in chief);
• the Applicant file and serve submissions and material in reply to by 27 November 2020;
and
• the hearing on eligibility for surrender be listed for one day on a date suitable to the magistrate and the parties
We would be grateful for advice as to whether your client agrees with this proposed approach to next steps in the matter.
128 By email in response, Mr Finlayson said:
Please find attached our application to Magistrate McLeod made on 15th October 2020. Magistrate McLeod will hear … our application for directions at 11:30am on Monday 26th October at the Adelaide Magistrates Court Building, Victoria Square Adelaide.
129 The attachment was a letter to the Duty Magistrate in Adelaide and an application under s 19 of the Extradition Act to determine the eligibility of Mr Pauga for extradition.
130 On 26 October 2020, Magistrate McLeod adjourned the matter brought before him to 9 December 2020 without making any finding as to whether the application could or should be accepted. It appears that the proceedings in Adelaide went no further.
131 On 30 October 2020, there was a hearing before the Primary Magistrate in Brisbane. Mr Pauga appeared by video link.
132 At the commencement of the hearing, counsel for Samoa explained that there was an application under the Extradition Act in which Samoa sought the extradition of Mr Pauga. He said that, before Magistrate Merrin, Samoa had made an application for proceedings to be conducted under s 19 of the Extradition Act and her Honour had timetabled the filing of material by Samoa and listed it for mention. He sought timetabling of filing of submissions and material by Mr Pauga.
133 Initially an application in the following terms (dated 29 October 2020) was pressed by Mr Mancini:
1. Dismissal of such proceedings as may be extant before a magistrate of the Magistrates Court of Queensland.
2. In the alternative an adjournment pending the outcome of Supreme Court of Queensland at Brisbane proceedings 10635/20 and Magistrates Court of Queensland proceedings at Brisbane M2439/20 [being the proceedings under the Human Rights Act]
3. A determination that Talalelei Pauga is not on remand under section 15 of the Extradition Act 1988.
4. That the magistrate call for all transcripts of proceedings before each other Magistrate or Acting Magistrate.
5. That the magistrate decline to exercise any function under the Extradition Act 1988.
6. That such magistrate of the Magistrates Court of Queensland as is seized of any proceedings as may be extant, determine that such magistrate does not have any present power, duty or function in respect of such proceedings.
7. That any magistrate have on file all transcripts of bearings, correspondence, applications, affidavits and documents as have been produced in the course of proceedings to date.
134 Mr Mancini referred to the proceedings under the Human Rights Act as proceedings that 'might be loosely categorised as habeas corpus type proceedings'. He said they were going to resume in the Supreme Court on 6 November 2020. Otherwise, rather than have directions made, he sought to have the application dated 29 October 2020 listed for argument on the basis that Mr Pauga was entitled to bring a challenge to his detention under the Extradition Act. Quite properly, the Primary Magistrate then asked 'Haven't you already done so and you were refused?' to which Mr Mancini responded in the affirmative. However, he maintained that, in effect, he had more evidence and he was entitled to make a further application.
135 A submission was advanced by Mr McKechnie for Samoa that having regard to the various applications that had been made, that Mr Pauga was wasting everyone's time and engaging in vexatious litigation by seeking to re-litigate the same issues in different places. Samoa sought directions timetabling the proceedings. In that regard, the following submission was advanced:
Samoa has made a valid extradition request and is entitled to pursue it, so those are my submissions. In term of timing, ordinarily in these matters, someone in Mr Pauga's position would be given a month. If your Honour looks at section 19 of the Act, one of the jurisdictional prerequisites is that a magistrate needs to be satisfied that the parties have had adequate time to prepare. Samoa accepts that these matters can, sometimes, be complicated, and have prepared to, sort of consider, whatever a reasonable time is for the filing of that material. But it's not prepared to have this matter adjourned off to the never never whilst Mr Pauga makes application after application, after application.
136 The Primary Magistrate then proceeded to receive submissions and materials in support of the application dated 29 October 2020. Then after a period of submissions, Mr Mancini sought an adjournment which was refused. There were further exchanges between counsel and the Primary Magistrate. Eventually, the application was withdrawn. Mr Mancini then made inquiries as to whether there was an application under s 19 of the Extradition Act that was before the Primary Magistrate which led to an exchange about the oral application that had been made before Magistrate Merrin at the time that Samoa had been directed to file its materials in support of its application to have the proceedings conducted. At the conclusion of that exchange the Primary Magistrate said:
I accept that her Honour, Magistrate Merrin, had an oral application under section 19. She has made directions for the filing of material pursuant to that application, those directions have been met and she's made a note prior to that, that the application is to proceed in accordance with section 19 of the Extradition Act. I accept that the Court has an application to proceed pursuant to section 19 and is intending to proceed on that basis. I'm now going to make a direction that Mr Pauga file and serve any submissions in response to those filed by Samoa before 4 pm on the 27th of November 2020.
137 Mr Mancini then indicated that he was 'going to ask for a little bit longer'. He then asked for the time to be until 11 December 2020. Subsequently, Mr Mancini indicated that what he was proposing to do was not file substantive submissions in response. Rather, he was going to put on evidence as to the steps that were proposed to be taken to gather the material to be relied upon to raise extradition objections. It was articulated by him in the following way:
Your Honour, just to be clear, but there's at least a number of stages that we have to go through. One is concerning whether the Samoan materials can be relied upon for the purposes of extradition proceedings continuing; the next question will be whether we've had time and whether time is required to be had - being a reasonable time to then have a hearing effectively on extradition objections. Now we've been working on that those questions, but these are complex issues and they're going to require international law considerations, expert evidence and other things. Some - witness summonses by a magistrate; potentially an application to the Supreme Court under the mutual assistance legislations for evidence to be obtained in Samoa; any hearing is going to take in excess of two weeks and we have to be ready for that. So what we're seeking to do, it's advancing these matters - we will put in some responding submissions and set out some evidence by affidavit of what we have to do. And we'll do that in time for the 11th.
138 However, the Primary Magistrate then made a direction for the filing of submissions in response to Samoa's submissions by 4.00 pm on 10 December 2020 and listed the matter for mention in the call over of Commonwealth matters on 11 December 2020. Mr Mancini asked if the mention would be before the Primary Magistrate to which her Honour responded that she did not know and then said 'I do not consider that I'm seized of this matter as there is no ongoing application before me'.
139 There is no note on the Charge Sheet of any order remanding Mr Pauga. The transcript that was in evidence does not record the making of an order. However, there is a Form 44 dated 30 October 2020 which states: 'It is ordered that the defendant be remanded in custody'. There was no attempt to impeach that record (which was produced by Mr Finlayson as an attachment to one of his affidavits) and it should be accepted as evidence establishing that there was such an order. Of course, the claim that the Form 44 was invalid for various other reasons (along with the other Form 44s) will need to be considered. However, as a matter of fact, I determine that there was an order remanding Mr Pauga in custody.
140 On 6 November 2020 there was a hearing before Martin J of the Supreme Court of Queensland of action 10635/2020, being the proceedings under the Human Rights Act. Leave was given to Mr Pauga to file an amended originating application in those proceedings seeking the issue of a writ of habeas corpus. The matter was listed for hearing on 16 December 2020. The amended application was in the following terms:
1. That a writ of habeas corpus issue to the Chief Executive Queensland Corrective Services that Talalelei Pauga be brought before the Court and submit to the further order of the Court as to his custody.
2. That Talalelei Pauga forthwith be released from the custody of the Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Corrective Services.
3. That Talalelei Pauga forthwith be released from custody at Arthur Gorrie Corrective Centre.
141 The following consolidation of grounds for the application was also provided:
1. The detention in custody of Talalelei Pauga has been and continues to be wrongful or irregular.
2. A person holding the office of a Magistrate in Queensland is not acting in the capacity of a magistrate when carrying out any functions as a persona designata under the Extradition Act 1988. Such a person is acting in their personal capacity and not as a court or a member of a court pursuant to section 45B of the Extradition Act 1988.
3. The Magistrates Court of Queensland does not have jurisdiction to remand Talalelei Pauga and the Forms 44 of the Queensland Magistrates Court were made without jurisdiction or in the alternative exhibit an error of law on their face in purporting to be instruments of the Queensland Magistrates Court exercising powers under the Extradition Act 1988 (Cth) which powers the Magistrates Court of Queensland does not have.
4. Mr Pauga was not brought before a magistrate as a persona designata as soon as practicable as required by section 15 of the Extradition Act 1988 following his arrest on [the] extradition arrest warrant and his imprisonment became unlawful at the end of the time in which he might reasonably practically have been brought and any purported orders of remand of Mr Pauga were in excess of jurisdiction in the absence of Mr Pauga having been brought as soon as practicable or at all before a Persona Designata.
5. At the time of the Queensland Arrangement the office of Stipendiary Magistrate was an office under the Justices Act, there being no office of 'acting magistrate'.
6. 'Magistrate' is defined in section 5 of the Extradition Act 1988 as, inter alia, 'a magistrate of a State or the Australian Capital Territory in relation to whom an arrangement is in force under section 46'.
7. Section 46(1) of the Extradition Act 1988 provides that the Governor-General may arrange with the Governor of a State for the performance, by all or any persons who from time to time hold office as magistrates of that State, of the functions of a magistrate under the Extradition Act 1988.
8. An acting magistrate is not included in such arrangements. An acting magistrate does not hold office as a magistrate in the State of Queensland and the office of acting magistrate was not either in existence at the time of, or in the contemplation of the arrangement entered into between the Governor-General of the Commonwealth and the Governor of Queensland of 30 November 1988.
9. Section 6 of the Magistrates Act 1991 (Qld) provides for the appointment of acting magistrates. By virtue of section 6(6) a person who is appointed to act as a magistrate acts as a magistrate only when directed by the Chief Magistrate to carry out the duties of a magistrate. By virtue of section 6(7), the Magistrates Act 1991 and other Acts apply to the person acting as a magistrate as if the person were a magistrate.
10. The appointment of an acting magistrate is not to the office of a magistrate and is to be contrasted with the appointment of a magistrate under section 5. A magistrate exercises all the jurisdiction, powers and functions conferred on a magistrate by or under the law of the State by virtue of section 8.
11. However, an acting magistrate does not exercise the jurisdiction, powers and functions of a magistrate under section 8. Rather, an acting magistrate acts with limitations as prescribed by the directions of the Chief Magistrate to carry out the duties of a magistrate, as distinct from the jurisdiction, powers and functions of a magistrate in the statutory office of a magistrate of the Magistrates Court.
12. Therefore, Acting Magistrate Byrne purporting to do anything in respect to Mr Pauga on 20 August 2020 was not empowered to do so. He was not capable of exercising any powers under the Extradition Act 1988 because, as merely an acting magistrate, he was not a magistrate, had limitations upon him in his role as an acting magistrate and was not identified in that role as a persona designata for the purposes of the Extradition Act 1988 or the Queensland Arrangement.
13. Insofar as the Acting Magistrate presiding on 20 August 2020 held any office, he held the office of an acting magistrate and not the office of a magistrate. This is further established by section 50 of the Magistrates Act 1991.
14. Any purported remand of Mr Pauga by the Acting Magistrate was not authorised by the Magistrates Act 1991 nor the Extradition Act 1988, was beyond power and in excess of jurisdiction.
15. The Acting Magistrate presiding on 20 August 2020 was not a magistrate for the purposes of section 15 of the Extradition Act 1988 which required that Mr Pauga be brought before a Persona Designata, as distinct from an acting magistrate.
16. The attendance on 3 September 2020 before a magistrate did not have Mr Pauga in attendance. He was in custody at the Brisbane watch house and had not been brought. Any remand of a person in custody requires that the person attend or appear at the conclusion of the period of each remand to be further remanded or otherwise dealt with according to law. It is a fundamental requirement that the person appear or attend so as to engage a Persona Designata's power to again remand. A person cannot be lawfully remanded in custody in the absence of appearance by the person. It is by virtue of a warrant of remand, warrant of commitment, order for remand or Form 44 Rule 62 Criminal Practice Rules Verdict and Judgment Record that a person is lawfully remanded in custody and the requisite legal authority exists for detention and admission to a corrective services facility as required, being necessary but not sufficient, by section 9 of the Corrective Services Act 2006.
17. The proposed listing of the extradition matter on 30 October 2020 ought not occur in the Magistrates Court of Queensland as it has no jurisdiction to deal with the matter and a prohibition injunction ought issue.
18. The proceedings on each occasion on 3 September 2020, 11 September 2020, and 18 September 2020 did not take place m accordance with the applicable Magistrates Court Practice Direction, that is, Practice Direction No. 5 of 2020 which repealed 'Practice Direction No. 3 Appearance of persons in custody -use of video link facilities', issued by the Chief Magistrate and dated 7 April 2020, to the extent that such Practice Direction was applicable. Exhibited and marked GJFl is a copy of Practice Directions No. 5 of 2020 and Practice Direction 3 of 2020.
19. The applicant was not taken before the proposed Fourth Respondent by the watch house officer responsible for the applicant's custody on 20 August 2020 contrary to Order 10.4.2 of the Queensland Police Operational Procedures Manual, issued by the Commissioner of Police pursuant to the provisions of section 4.9 of the Police Service Administration Act 1990, so that the applicant could be dealt with according to law. Exhibited and marked GJF2 is a copy of Chapter 10 of the Queensland Police Operational Procedures Manual.
20. The applicant was not taken before the proposed Fourth Respondent by a prescribed police officer at the watch house on 20 August 2020 contrary to section 394(2)(d) of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (the PPRA).
21. The officer in charge at the relevant time or the watch house manager did not ensure compliance with the warrant issued under section 12 of the Extradition Act 1988 pursuant to which the applicant had been arrested and delivered into the custody of the officer in charge of the Brisbane Watch house on 20 August 2020 contrary to section 395 of the PPRA.
22. The applicant was not taken before the proposed Fourth Respondent on 20 August 2020 contrary to section 393 of the PPRA by the relevant police officer contrary to section 393(l)(d) of the PPRA, to the extent that it was applicable.
23. The first respondent did not have the authority to admit and detain the applicant in accordance with section 9 of the Corrective Services Act 2006 (the CSA).
24. The first respondent relies upon the Form 44 Verdict and Judgment Record issued in respect to the applicant on 20 August 2020, 3 September 2020, 11 September 2020, 18 September 2020, 21 September 2020, 22 September 2020, 25 September 2020 and 30 October 2020. The only proper and lawful authority which may have been relied upon by the Respondents pursuant to section 9 of the CSA was a warrant for the detention of the applicant as required by section 9(1)(c) of the CSA.
25. The use of the Form 44 Verdict and Judgment Record on each occasion was irregular and not authorised by Rule 61 of the Criminal Practice Rules as there had not been a verdict or judgment given in respect to the applicant, and the applicant was required to be before a magistrate acting in his or her personal capacity and not acting as a court or as an officer of a Magistrates Court.
26. Pursuant to section 69(1) of the CSA the first respondent was required to produce the applicant to the hearings taking place on 3 September 2020, 11 September 2020, 18 September 2020 and 30 October 2020. The applicant was not produced. As a result the detention of him by the first respondent from 3 September 2020 was not authorised.
27. No remand was made during the hearing before [the Primary Magistrate] on the 30th October 2020.
28. Insofar as it may have been noted by [the Primary Magistrate] subsequent to the hearing on 30th October 2020 that the applicant was remanded in custody this act of notation:
a. did not amount to a lawful authority for remand of the Applicant;
b. was performed in a manner which denied procedural fairness to the Applicant;
c. did not form a lawful basis for the issue of the Form 44 dated 30 October 2020.
29. The form 44 of 30 October 2020 was issued by the Magistrates Court of Queensland without affording procedural fairness to the Applicant including to make submissions that it ought not be created and issued by the Magistrates Court of Queensland in the circumstances.
30. It is impermissible to undertake proceedings under the Extradition Act 1988 in the sessions of, in association with all the usual manifestations and features of, or resort to the seal of, the Magistrates Court of Queensland.
142 On 10 December 2020, Crow J of the Supreme Court of Queensland determined applications to set aside subpoenas issued at the request of Mr Pauga and an application by Mr Pauga for production of documents.
143 On 11 December 2020, written submissions were filed for Mr Pauga in the extradition proceedings. They began with a section headed 'Jurisdiction'. It set out short submissions to the effect that the jurisdiction being exercised in the extradition proceedings was administrative. It then had a section headed 'Jurisdictional facts or prerequisites'. It described the Four Pre-Conditions and set out reasons why they were said not to be met. As to whether Mr Pauga had been given reasonable time to prepare it submitted that a reasonable time to collate and present extradition objections was 24 to 36 months. There was very little in the written submissions to explain why that might be so.
144 The submissions ended with the following conclusion:
At this stage Mr Pauga submits that this matter ought to be allocated to a magistrate who becomes the magistrate dealing with and responsible for the s19 process. That allocation ought be performed in a considered fashion rather than appearance in a rostered list. A section 19 application ought be taken out of the Court and any manifestation or ability to conflate the persona designate [sic] with the Court. Procedural processes ought be clarified. There ought be recognition at this stage that the reasonable time to prepare for the hearing is in the order of years not weeks.
145 At the mention hearing before the Primary Magistrate on that date, Mr Pauga appeared by video link. Counsel for Samoa proposed that Mr Pauga be directed to file a report by a date in January as to the progress of preparations to date and a plan as to what is still to be done.
146 Mr Mancini did not oppose the course of an adjournment for the proposed purpose of providing a report. He also asked for the matter to be allocated to a particular magistrate. In the result, the matter was relisted for 12 February 2021 for mention. A direction was made requiring Mr Pauga to file and serve by 4.00 pm on 5 February 2021 a written plan as to the evidence, reports or witnesses to be relied upon and a timetable as to when they will be available. Mr Pauga was remanded in custody with a direction that he appear by video on 12 February 2021.
147 Written submissions were filed in the Supreme Court proceedings on 15 December 2020.
148 The submissions for Mr Pauga began by raising a version of the course of the extradition proceedings up until 11 December 2020 and the course of the proceedings in the Supreme Court. It then advanced the following propositions:
(1) 'Relief by way of habeas corpus is available to the applicant. He asserts that his detention from 20 August 2020 has been unlawful'.
(2) There was a failure to comply with the legislative requirements at the hearing on 20 August 2020.
(3) The Chief Executive had not given any sufficient explanation or identified sufficiently the reason for Mr Pauga's detention.
(4) The Extradition Act does not deprive the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction to entertain relief in the nature of habeas corpus.
(5) The Extradition Act required that Mr Pauga had to be brought before a magistrate as soon as reasonably practicable after his arrest.
(6) Mr Pauga was not before Acting Magistrate Byrne when the proceedings were called on at 1.00 pm on 20 August 2020.
(7) Acting Magistrate Byrne did not pronounce any order of remand.
(8) Nothing occurred during the four day period that Mr Pauga was in the Brisbane Watch House to have him brought before a magistrate.
(9) The jurisdiction of the magistrate can only be enlivened if the person arrested is brought before the magistrate.
(10) Insofar as there was any order for remand by Acting Magistrate Byrne (which is disputed) it was without jurisdiction or power.
(11) Mr Pauga's detention was unlawful under the Human Rights Act.
(12) 'The precondition to the conduct of the section 19 extradition proceedings required compliance with section 15'.
(13) The precondition to remand on 20 August 2020 and any further remand thereafter was compliance with the brought before requirement in s 15.
(14) At the point of any order for remand on 20 August 2020 and 'thereafter to date' the detention of Mr Pauga has been unlawful, in breach of the Extradition Act and not regular or sufficient for the purposes of Mr Pauga's continuing detention at the Brisbane Watch House or at the Corrective Centre.
(15) Nothing that has occurred since can and has made his detention lawful nor could it.
(16) Anything done by Acting Magistrate Byrne as a persona designata was not of any effect and it was as if it were never done because an acting magistrate was not empowered to carry out any power, duty or function under the Extradition Act.
(17) 'Each and every Form 44 that issued are not those of any Magistrate. The only order of remand that could give effect to the remand of [Mr Pauga] would be an order made by a Magistrate in their capacity as a persona designata'.
(18) Each of the Form 44s were forms of the Magistrates Court of Queensland and were forms prescribed in its criminal jurisdiction and the forms may not be used in the context of a magistrate acting as a persona designata under the Extradition Act.
(19) A form of warrant for the remand of Mr Pauga was required by the Extradition Act.
(20) As Mr Pauga was not transferred to court on 3, 11 and 18 September 2020, any order for remand was not valid because it requires the presence of the person on remand in order for there to be further remand.
(21) 'The operation of the statutory regime for audio visual appearance by an accused person under the relevant provisions of the Justices Act is not a substitute or alternative for the ordinary requirements of remand under the [Extradition Act]'.
(22) 'Any order of the Magistrates Court of Queensland purporting to be based on the Extradition Act is a nullity'.
149 The hearing in the Supreme Court of the amended application for relief by way of habeas corpus proceeded on 16 and 17 December 2020. The decision of Crow J on the application was reserved.
150 On 18 December 2020, Crow J delivered oral reasons dismissing the application. In those reasons, his Honour:
(1) found that it was on 21 September 2020 that Mr Pauga was for the first time brought before a magistrate in accordance with s 15(1);
(2) there was ample evidence to explain what had occurred between 20 August 2020 when Mr Pauga was arrested and 21 September 2020;
(3) what had occurred was an unfortunate consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic;
(4) Mr Pauga could not be brought to Court until 21 September 2020;
(5) a claim that a remand by use of a Form 44 was not a proper remand was rejected as a basis for claiming that Mr Pauga had not been lawfully detained on the basis that it contained all the necessary elements to constitute a warrant for the purposes of s 6(1) of the Corrective Services Act 2006 (Qld);
(6) a claim based upon the Human Rights Act that Mr Pauga's detention was unlawful had a fundamental problem because Mr Pauga was being detained not on the authority of a public entity of the State of Queensland but by the action of a magistrate as a persona designata acting in an administrative function under the Extradition Act of the Commonwealth; and
(7) concluded, based on the above findings of fact and law (and other findings) that the amended application for the issue of a writ of habeas corpus or for an order for release of Mr Pauga should be dismissed.
151 It may be noted that the reasons of Crow J rest upon findings based upon evidence before Crow J concerning the difficulties that arose as a result of 'lock downs' and other steps being taken to limit movements, including the movement of persons in custody, by reason of the COVID pandemic.
152 On 5 January 2021, an application was brought by Mr Pauga to recall and reopen the decision of Crow J.
153 On 12 February 2021, the extradition proceedings were mentioned before the Primary Magistrate. Although a request for Mr Pauga to appear in person had been granted, Mr Pauga had not been brought up when the mention hearing commenced. At the hearing, Mr Mancini handed up a document that he described as a roadmap to the proceedings. He said that it complied with the earlier direction 'to the extent that we can comply'. It was a five page list of 61 items. The Primary Magistrate expressed the view that it did not comply because what was required was a written plan. That view was plainly correct when regard is had to the terms of the direction and the content of the five page list.
154 By reason of the significance that was sought to be given by Mr Mancini to the roadmap (both at the hearing and subsequently), I set out the whole of its contents:
1. Eligibility for Extradition - Section 19 EA Proceedings
2. Effect of Habeas Corpus Proceedings and appeals thereof
3. Identification of 'the Magistrate' for the purpose of s19 Proceedings
4. Consideration of Recusal
5. Section 46B Discretion to be seized
6. Integrity of the file
7. Application for Legal Aid
8. Legal Aid Samoa
9. Legal Aid Queensland
10. Special Circumstances Scheme
11. Due Process
12. Identification by the Magistrate of the procedures to be adopted and evidential rules and procedures
13. Operation of Procedure Compliant with Privacy Act
14. Jurisdictional Questions
15. Operation of Section 19
16. Outline Investigations to be Undertaken by respondent
17. Disclosure
18. Subpoenas
19. Freedom of Information Processes
20. Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters
21. Consensual Investigations
22. Deposition/Evidential Hearings
23. Savali Campaign
24. Australian Aid to Samoan Justice
25. Information
26. Police Investigation of the Criminal Defamation Matter
27. Relationship between informant and witnesses
28. Process by which Criminal Defamation was abandoned
29. Credibility of Potential Prosecution Witness
30. Proces[s] by which charges were investigated against each defendant
31. Current Process in Samoa
32. Circumstances of Guilty Plea by Co-accused
33. Circumstances in which the warrant has issued
34. Executive influence on The Samoan Judicial System
35. Constitution and makeup of Samoan Judiciary
36. Prime Minister's Abuse of Power in Respect of the Respondent
37. Samoan Concepts of Race and relationship between informant's clan and Pauga clan and Samoan concepts of punishment
38. Palagi
39. Feagaiga Institution
40. Law in Samoa
41. Criminal Law, Procedure and Evidence
42. Extradition Law
43. Prison Law
44. Rule of Law
45. Human Rights Law
46. Background and correspondence in respect of extradition requests for Pauga
47. Australia-Samoa International Law Obligations and Arrangements
48. Samoan Political, Sociological Relationships and History
49. Investigate Magistrates Court file
50. List of Potential Witnesses and related Issues
51. NZ Professor
52. Samoan Legal Practitioner(s)
53. Honourable Miheal Kirby (sic)
54. Anthropologist
55. Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi
56. Extradition Objections
57. DFAT Officers
58. Samoan former DPP
59. Prime Minister
60. Examination of Authenticity
61. Hearing on Extradition Objections and Submissions
155 No lawyer acting reasonably could conceive of such a document as being a document of the kind that might comply with the direction made by the Primary Magistrate on 11 December 2020 (and acceded to by Mr Mancini).
156 Mr Mancini also again raised the question of 'which magistrate was going to be seized of the matter'. The Primary Magistrate indicated that she thought that she would be conducting the entire matter because 'it makes sense that it stays with one person'. Mr Mancini then foreshadowed an application for recusal. He was then invited to make the recusal application. He declined to do so and said that it would need to be prepared. In the absence of a recusal application, the Primary Magistrate indicated that she would proceed given the nature of the hearing which concerned directions. Her Honour sought an explanation as to why the earlier direction had not been complied with.
157 Mr Mancini then said that he would wait until his client was present. He maintained that the matter being discussed was a matter of substance that should not proceed in the absence of Mr Pauga. The Primary Magistrate then stood the matter down. When the matter resumed Mr Pauga was brought in. Mr Mancini began by again asking who was going to be seized of the matter, which led to further exchanges about whether that position needed to be made clear and whether there was an application to recuse for bias. Mr Mancini indicated that he would file the application. The Primary Magistrate indicated that if an application for recusal was not made as to why she could not deal with the mention hearing then her Honour would proceed.
158 Mr Mancini then began an explanation as to why he submitted that previous directions were not valid because of jurisdictional points including whether Mr Pauga had been 'brought before' a magistrate after his arrest. In effect, he sought to reargue points that had been determined by Crow J. After being asked to focus his submissions on the directions to be made, he submitted in essence that they had done as much as they could and where there were other things to be done they were set out in the 'roadmap'. Those submissions gave to the five page document that had been handed up a character which it plainly did not have. It was no more than a rather obscurely expressed list of topics with no indication of their substantive relevance, what they involved or when they might be done. Ultimately, Mr Mancini submitted that the only order that should be made was to adjourn the matter until after the outcome of the proceedings in the Supreme Court to reopen the decision of Crow J.
159 The Primary Magistrate proceeded to determine that the document described by Mr Mancini as a roadmap that had been handed up during the hearing did not comply with the previous directions made on 10 December 2021. Directions were made requiring an affidavit setting out all the steps that had been taken in furtherance of the directions made in December 2020 and any explanation as to why the directions had not been complied with. Also, Mr Pauga was directed to file and serve an affidavit as to a written plan of the evidence and reports of any witnesses he intended to call and a timetable as to when reports and statements from any such witnesses will be available. The affidavits were directed to be filed before 4.00 pm on 26 February 2021. The matter was adjourned to 12 March 2021.
160 Leave was also given, at the request of Mr Mancini, to inspect the court file. Mr Mancini sought liberty to apply to deal with any matter arising from the Supreme Court proceedings. A direction was made allowing for liberty to apply. The Primary Magistrate also indicated that any application for recusal would be heard on 12 March 2021 and that the papers for any such application should also be filed by 26 February 2021. Mr Pauga was remanded in custody until 12 March 2021.
161 Then on the following Monday, 15 February 2021, Mr Finlayson sent an email to a registrar in the Magistrates Court. It said:
I refer to the liberty to apply granted by the Court on 12 February 2021
Mr Pauga seeks that the matter be called on pursuant to that liberty to apply and will seek orders that the orders of [the Primary Magistrate] in respect of the filing of any affidavits be stayed pending the objection to jurisdiction raised by Mr Pauga in written submissions and again by his counsel on 12 February 2021 and the question of the validity of the orders made on 11 December 2020 being listed for subsequent argument on notice, heard and determined.
We request to have this matter brought on as soon as possible on 48 hours' notice (not being on 19 February 2021) for hearing by telephone for the above purpose.
162 The application pursuant to the liberty to apply came before the Primary Magistrate on 23 February 2021. Her Honour dismissed the application for a stay of the direction requiring the filing of affidavits and amended the previous direction to require that any exercise of the liberty to apply be on 7 days' notice and be in the form of a written application.
163 In the meantime, the application to recall and reopen proceedings before Crow J was heard and dismissed by his Honour on 19 February 2021. The decisions by Crow J have not been the subject of any appeal.
164 On 11 March 2021, a solicitor from the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department acting for Samoa sent an email to Mr Finlayson which set out the history of directions made in the extradition proceedings and then said:
At present, this Department has no substantive material before it as to what steps your client has, or intends to take, to prepare submissions and material in support of extradition objections at the section 19 hearing. Based on your latest correspondence, we also understand that your client does not intend to provide further information on these matters.
In the absence of any evidence or substantive material from your client since 10 December 2021 on preparation of extradition objections, and noting that your client remains in custody, we consider currently that the appropriate course of action is to request that the matter be listed for a surrender eligibility hearing before her Honour … at her earliest convenience.
We intend to do so at the directions hearing tomorrow 12 March 2021.
Should your client wish to provide further information, or his proposed orders for the direction hearing tomorrow, we would happy to consider and advise whether this alters our proposed approach at the case management hearing.
165 The reference to a 'surrender eligibility hearing' reflects the terminology of s 19. It provides that where the matters listed in s 19(1) pertain (which include an application for proceedings to be conducted under the section and the magistrate considers that the person and the extradition country have had reasonable time in which to prepare for such proceedings), the magistrate 'shall conduct proceedings to determine whether the person is eligible for surrender'.
166 The email from the Department met with the following response from Mr Finlayson:
Dear Ms Hemingway,
In the Magistrates Court of Queensland at Brisbane MAG-00152606/20(6) BRIS-MAG-00025579/20
Thank you for your email of earlier today.
We refer to your invitation in the last paragraph for our client to provide further information in respect of preparation of materials in support of our client's extradition objections.
Our client has always been disposed to provide such further information and indeed sought to do so with the provision of the Roadmap, the attendance at the hearing on 12th February 2021, to speak to that document and provide such further information and to do so since then. We welcome your invitation to do so and will provide that information to you in further correspondence.
Our endeavours to do so at the hearings thus far has been foreclosed by [the Primary Magistrate]. However, we take the view that does not prevent us doing so outside of the court processes.
As you would appreciate from the Responding Submissions dated 11 December 2020, the issues, investigations and contemplated materials are extensive and complex. We have been working on them. We consider that we can support the foreshadowed objections with evidence and we gave a broad estimate of the timeframe for that. The work progressing this is ongoing by ourselves, our client and third parties.
Of course, these are not the only issues which we have identified for the purpose of the Extradition Act proceedings.
It was for those purposes that we have been making applications to the Court and [the Primary Magistrate] including the Application of 29 October 2020, the Application for recusal on 12 February 2021 and applications to be heard on the matters raised in our filed submissions. None of these Applications have been heard and determined.
We respectfully suggest that it is not open to [the Primary Magistrate] to prevent our client from making such applications, and being fully heard.
We point out that, apart from the orders of the court, [the Primary Magistrate] has not done anything more than list the matter for mention from time to time, not allocated any time for hearing of any Application or submissions, not asked the parries in the usual way as to what time would be required to hear such applications and submissions, and has proceeded in a peremptory fashion in a highly congested Court list without allowing us to articulate our objections to the making of the orders which have been made.
Such issues, and the dictates of procedural fairness will not go away and need to be heard and determined. We are not abandoning any of the matters outlined in our filed submissions or Roadmap. Accordingly, we regard your invitation as a welcome method of resolving the impasse presented at Court.
We suggest that the matter be adjourned on the joint request of the parties for a period of ten weeks for us to provide the further information in response to your invitation.
We wish to raise some matters now as they are aspects of the issues which we have already identified as follows:
1. The oral application made on 25 September 2020 is is [sic] not in accordance with the Extradition Act as it was not made to the Magistrate who is to conduct the section 19 proceedings. This is a matter of statutory interpretation and gives rise to a jurisdictional issue which needs to be heard and determined.
2. The orders made on 25 September 2020 were not valid. This is a matter of statutory interpretation and gives rise to a jurisdictional issue which needs to be heard and determined.
3. The same applies in respect of the orders made on 30 October 2020.
4. The same applies in respect of the orders made on 11 December 2020.
5. The same applies in respect of the orders made on 12 February 2021.
6. You refer to the Roadmap and the 61 topics identified therein. We would like to explain that document and the topics to the Court for the purposes of the proceedings. We should not be precluded from doing so. We would hope that [the Primary Magistrate] would enable us to do so in due course. If she continues to preclude our client it will be a denial of procedural fairness and amount to jurisdictional error.
7. The proposed proceedings by way of judicial review will be brought in the Federal Court of Australia and will seek relief including by way of writs of habeas corpus, prohibition, certiorari, injunction and quo warranto, and will give rise to constitutional issues including Chapter III considerations, the validity of the Arrangement under section 46 of the Extradition Act relied upon by Samoa. The proposed respondents will include the Magistrates Court of Queensland, Magistrates Previtera, Merrin, Gett and Gilbert, Acting Magistrate Byrne and the Chief Executive of Queensland Corrective Services. We are progressing preparation of those proceedings and they will be commenced as soon as practicable.
8. In your email you indicate that the proceedings be listed for a surrender eligibility hearing. We note that you have not given notice in accordance with the orders of the Court made on 23 February 2021. We will oppose such application, and seek a dedicated hearing in respect of any such application and any other applications and submissions as may be appropriate.
We respectfully suggest that it is not in the interests of the parties and the interests of justice that there be continued contested applications when there is work to be done on the matters raised in our client's Responding Submissions and the Roadmap and to be addressed in response to your invitation for further information. Let's review the situation after we provide that further information.
167 The extradition matter next came before the Primary Magistrate on 12 March 2021. The proceedings commenced with her Honour noting that no materials had been filed in respect of the proposed recusal application. In response to her Honour's inquiry as to whether Mr Pauga was proceeding with the recusal application, Mr Mancini responded 'Yes, your Honour. But not today because we're not ready'.
168 Mr Mancini began by saying that he needed transcripts of the hearings on 11 December 2020 and 12 February 2021 which he said had been sought on 13 February 2021 (a Saturday) together with a fee waiver request. There was then an exchange about whether the recusal application should proceed because it had been listed. Mr Mancini maintained that he was not ready to proceed. The Primary Magistrate then proposed that Samoa's application for extradition be set down.
169 Mr Mancini maintained his submission that there was a fundamental question as to whether jurisdiction had been engaged. He maintained that those questions went to whether there had been any jurisdiction or power to make the directions that had been made and that question, he submitted, needed to be 'identified' and he sought to be heard about 'those questions'.
170 The Primary Magistrate proceeded to seek submissions from Mr Mancini about the listing of hearing dates for the matter on the basis that there was no application and no material before her Honour about the jurisdictional matters. In doing so, her Honour made clear:
I propose setting hearing dates today. I'll set another date for the making of any preliminary applications but I'm setting a hearing. So I would like you to address me on … when you'll be ready for a hearing.
171 Her Honour's statement resulted in the following exchange with Mr Mancini (bearing in mind there had already been two exchanges in which Mr Mancini made clear that he did not wish to proceed with any application for recusal):
MR MANCINI: For what hearing?
BENCH: The extradition hearing.
MR MANCINI: I don't understand what that is, your Honour.
BENCH: Well, I can't give you legal advice, Mr Mancini.
MR MANCINI: No, no, no, your Honour.
BENCH: It's not my role to assist you.
MR MANCINI: [indistinct] telling me your listing and has a function of how to list a hearing of an application.
BENCH: It's the extradition application … The application that Samoa has brought.
MR MANCINI: Which application is that, your Honour?
BENCH: Mr Mancini, I cannot give you legal advice. It's not - - -
MR MANCINI: I'm not asking for legal advice.
BENCH: It is not my role, all right.
MR MANCINI: Your Honour, I'm asking - - -
BENCH: It is not my role.
MR MANCINI: I'm asking your Honour, politely, for your Honour to identify the application.
BENCH: It's the application filed by Samoa for your client to be extradited to Samoa.
…
MR MANCINI: Yes. Precisely. Precisely
172 At that point counsel for Samoa asked if he might be heard and said 'The Section 19 application made by Samoa'.
173 Mr Mancini objected to the interruption. Then the Primary Magistrate said 'It's a Section 19 application for Mr Pauga's extradition to Samoa'. It prompted the following further exchange.
BENCH: It cannot be any clearer than that in this court's view. But, look, I can't assist you to understand it any more than that. It is not my role to give advice
MR MANCINI: No, no. It's not, your Honour.
MR MANCINI: No, but it's your Honour's role to identify what is the power your Honour's exercised. And the basis of - - -
BENCH: It's the power pursuant to Section 19. That's how we're proceeding.
MR MANCINI: Well-yes, your Honour.
BENCH: All right.
MR MANCINI: Put it - - -
BENCH: The ruling has been given on that already before her Honour Magistrate Merrin and I propose to set hearing dates today with any outstanding applications to be listed before another date. I'm proposing hearing dates of the 10ᵗʰ and 11ᵗʰ of June are - - -
MR MANCINI: Of - of what, your Honour?
BENCH: 10ᵗʰ and 11ᵗʰ of June.
MR MANCINI: Of?
BENCH: Of the application under Section 19.
MR MANCINI: Two days is only set aside.
174 Mr Mancini then said that he was not available on those dates. He was then asked to provide two days in June when he was available. Counsel for Samoa was then asked as to his availability and how long the hearing would take. It led to the following submission:
I'm going to make two submissions. Firstly, with regards to jurisdiction, the jurisdiction that your Honour has to determine a Section 19 application is set out in Section 19 itself. Section 19 subsection (l) contains four elements which Federal Courts, on review, often refer to as the jurisdictional requirements. And the usual practice is that they're heard at the same time. So they're - that's the first hurdle that Samoa has to overcome to get your Honour to conduct the hearing and then there's more substantive elements. And that's already in my written submissions.
(emphasis added)
175 The emphasised words assume significance because, ultimately, the July hearing proceeded on the basis that the question whether the Four Pre-Conditions had been met and the Section 19 Proceedings were considered at a single hearing. Mr Mancini raised no objection to that course. At the July Hearing and in this Court he has claimed that to proceed in that way was not permitted by the Extradition Act.
176 At that point the Primary Magistrate intervened to draw the attention of Mr Mancini to what was being said on the basis that it was answering what had been raised earlier. Mr Mancini indicated that he was listening.
177 Counsel for Samoa then continued:
The second submission I have regarding the length of the hearing goes to the issues that are to be determined. Currently, they are matters of law that rise and fall upon the extradition documents that have been filed by Samoa. The more extensive issues of questions of fact about extradition [objections] were, as your Honour has identified, the subject of the orders that Mr Pauga has repeatedly not only repeatedly failed to comply with but has repeatedly failed to comply with further orders of your Honour asking him why he hasn't complied. And Samoa submits that this hearing will take two days on the very clear understanding - and I'm putting this very clearly on the record - that there is to be no argument about extradition objections because today's an opportunity to put that material in. And the time has come to proceed with that hearing.
So in the absence of any of that, it's essentially legal argument only. In an ordinary matter, I would say one day. But as I said before, I accept for a matter like this that two days is appropriate.
178 After a further exchange, the Primary Magistrate indicated that the matter would be adjourned for hearing for two days on 8 and 9 July 2021 and Samoa was directed to file written submissions in reply by 10 June 2021.
179 Mr Mancini then objected to the making of directions and to the course that had been followed. Reference was made to the approach that had been proposed in correspondence prior to the hearing. It was said that 'we're going to give the information'. He stated that there was no power under the Extradition Act for a magistrate to make any order or directions of the kind that had been made. He then said that they were working on a review application. He then made the following submission:
But the review is not to do with those processes because we might at least, to exhaust our avenues or properly, fairly and reasonably, putting those matters to you so that you can consider them before we embark upon the expense and the burden of taking reviews in respect of those orders. I did say on the last occasion, your Honour, that we are advancing Federal Court proceedings and the detail of those Federal Court proceedings is actually in our email. And that's being worked on. But we're not going to rush into it. We don't have material, evidentiary material, and I've identified that for your Honour, the transcripts. We don't - and we're working on the issues around that.
Those proceedings are serious proceedings and are concerned with jurisdiction of your Honour, the functions of your Honour as a judicial officer, the functions of the Magistrates Court of Queensland and its - to use the neutral term, interference in the process under the Extradition Act and its involvement in the process of the Extradition Act. We're concerned with issues around chapter 3 and issues around prohibition and recusal of your Honour. So we can make a recusal application here and we will do so. But we made it once before, your Honour. Your Honour does - would recall that of the 12ᵗʰ of February. And your Honour dealt with it by dismissing it without anything more.
180 There was then a further exchange about whether there had been a recusal application on 12 February 2021, after which Mr Mancini returned to matters of jurisdiction with the following submission:
So your Honour, in the Extradition Act, I'd like to take your Honour to it for the purposes of these orders and understanding that nothing has been advanced by Mr McKechnie in support of any conception that your Honour has such a power. Nothing has been identified as arising in the Extradition Act in - as identifying such a power and nor has your Honour identified such a power. So I'd like to make my submissions about that question in - in the face of the failure to [indistinct] the strategic forensic failure of my learned friend to identify such a power. And for your Honour to understand that until your Honour identifies a power rather than an amorphous statement based on some submissions of Mr McKechnie, which we haven't had an opportunity to make submissions about, then we will know whether your Honour can or should exercise that power and what would be the terms of it. Because the first question is: should you exercise a power, is it a power in existence and what is the discretion that arises in respect of that power.
Now, before your Honour made any orders, I would have wanted to have been heard. We still haven't been heard on any of those things and I have submissions to make. And your Honour has studiously precluded me from making submissions about what we'd like to say about these questions, about these directions, about these affidavits and about the information.
181 Following further exchanges between Mr Mancini and the Primary Magistrate concerning whether Mr Mancini was being given an opportunity to make submissions, Mr Mancini then made lengthy submissions. They included the following:
(1) at no stage had time been allocated to hear submissions that go to the question of power, jurisdiction or statutory interpretation;
(2) there was unfairness in requiring Mr Mancini to develop those submissions 'on the fly' at a mention hearing;
(3) an adjournment would be sought after the submissions had been made for further time to make more submissions;
(4) the written submissions that had been filed (on 11 December 2020) were a 'very complex document in respect of the submissions under these extradition objections';
(5) the directions made for a plan as to the filing of evidence and reports were made 'without hearing submissions about that';
(6) as to the directions 'we said we're not required to and we don't want to for various reasons which were directorially dismissed without any regard to anything';
(7) as to the five page roadmap document that was then provided, Mr Mancini said he wanted to speak to that document so as to provide a better understanding of what they were trying to do;
(8) a repeated submission to the effect that the Primary Magistrate had no power under the Extradition Act to make directions about filing affidavits; and
(9) the proceeding being conducted was 'as a judicial officer in a court' with everything being done in orders and directions by 'some functionary of the Registry on its orders - and not on your Honour's orders' all of which were matters to which objection was taken.
182 Then there was the following exchange:
BENCH: What's your authority that says the Magistrates Court is not a court?
MR MANCINI: Your Honour-no, no, no.
BENCH: That's what you're saying.
MR MANCINI: An extradition - precisely the problem. Extradition proceedings are not in the court and your Honour has been doing as a court … every single thing has been as a Magistrate, judicial officer.
BENCH: And what's your authority that says that that's not the procedure?
MR MANCINI: Well - -
BENCH: What's your authority?
MR MANCINI: I'll give it to your Honour. It's all the authorities with which Extradition Act [applications] by a Magistrate are heard and determined. It's by persona designate … in a personal capacity. Section 46B of the Extradition Act makes that plain. Your Honour hasn't even had regard to that. Your Honour hasn't even had regard to the submission I want to make about all that.
Everything your Honour has done and every other Magistrate has done leading up to today, including today, comes from a judicial officer garbed in this fashion exercising a judicial function representing to the world at large that you're a court and a judicial officer. And then
BENCH: But who am I really?
MR MANCINI: You're just Tina Previtera, Magistrate assigned by an arrangement between the Commonwealth and Queensland to process extradition proceedings. Yes. And it's how you have to conduct the proceeding. Your Honour hasn't even bothered to listen to us about that. Your Honour just goes along, processes it just like you do. Processes it just like a court. Every time we come here, your Honour, we're in a court. We're not - has your Honour ever processed, for example, a search warrant for the Commonwealth? Your Honour … does it as a persona designata, not in a court … open to the public in a hearing, garbed in the fashion that your Honour is garbed, with the coat of arms, finalised by way of court seals and registries, signatures, etcetera etcetera.
Every single one of these things in the Brisbane Magistrates Court has failed.
…
BENCH: So is your argument that there can never be extradition proceedings brought in any court?
MR MANCINI: That's right. It - - -
MR FINLAYSON: Yes.
MR MANCINI: With a Magistrate. Yes, that's right. Can't be done. Sorry, that's what your Honour is doing. That's what Mr McKechnie keeps asking you to do. Court do this, court do that. Relies upon, remand orders, etcetera etcetera. I'll take you through it, your Honour, but give me the chance and the opportunity to do so because if your Honour wants to make sure that you've got the power to do it, there will not be [indistinct] make sure you have. And we are putting this seriously to your Honour because it's a serious issue. Because if your Honour hasn't got the power, whatever your Honour ends up doing is going to be a failure. And if your Honour hasn't got the power, then stop it immediately. Every single order is not an order of your Honour. Every single order is not an order of Tina Previtera, Magistrate in Queensland. Every single order is your Honour garbed as a Magistrate judicial officer in the court, in public. Then finalised by way of a sealed document not of your Honour. Your Honour hasn't signed a single order in this case. Not one single order has been made by you. We've ended up ---
BENCH: Who's been making them?
MR MANCINI: Who's been publishing them?
BENCH: No. Who's been making them?
MR MANCINI: The Magistrates Court of Queensland. Have a look at the file, your Honour. They're there.
BENCH: And in what guise do they appear there today?
…
MR MANCINI: Yes. And your Honour, everything- everything that happens in this - in this place is as if it's a court. Everything to do with Mr Pauga is done not by your Honour in remands and so forth in bringing him here, it's done by the Magistrates Court of Queensland in Brisbane. Tipstaffs tell people not to do things because they're in the court, not to take photos. It's none of their business because it's not a court. … the only business it is is your Honour, without regard, without the coat of arms, then determining how this whole thing is going to go.
183 There were more submissions along the same lines. Then, having allowed considerable latitude, the Primary Magistrate interrupted to refer Mr Mancini to the fact that leave had been given to apply on seven days' notice in writing in the form of a written application and supporting affidavit material but no such application had been brought on behalf of Mr Pauga. It met with the following response from Mr Mancini:
So your Honour, about identified some of the matters that should be considered. Whether your Honour wants an application or not in my submission it does not matter. Your Honour has to decide these questions. We can do that, let's do it. Let's do it with a proper hearing on these issues. Because your Honour, these are threshold issues. They got to the heart of the proceedings, the heart of the process, the validity of any orders and whether any of this process to date has been valid and can continue. So your Honour, these are very important questions. These are very important questions of which there are legal issues with outlines. They are before the court. And your Honour, we have been working…in that context and there are a number of matters. And we'd like to explain all of that.
184 Much more was submitted as to the points that Mr Mancini said were points that should be determined on a preliminary basis. Counsel for Samoa referred to authority to support the approach whereby power had been entrusted to magistrates to act as persona designata and that those authorities did not say anything to the effect that the authority could not be exercised by a magistrate in robes sitting in a court room.
185 Eventually, matters returned to the position that hearing dates were to be set for 8 and 9 July 2021 and in the meantime there was liberty to apply.
186 Mr Mancini then submitted that the liberty that had been given previously could only have been exercised in respect of the orders then made. The Primary Magistrate then made clear that the liberty was a general liberty. Mr Mancini then inquired as to the forms that were to be used which appeared to be an attempt to expose his submission that the procedures of the Magistrates Court of Queensland did not apply.
187 After further exchanges directions were made in the terms that had been indicated with the clear statement that the hearing on the extradition application would take place on 8 and 9 July 2021. There was a direction that Samoa file and serve any material upon which it relies for the hearing before 4.00 pm on 10 June 2021 and a direction that Mr Pauga file and serve any material on which he relies for the hearing before 4.00 pm on 24 June 2021. Mr Pauga was remanded in custody and an order was made that he be produced from custody for the hearing on 8 July 2021.
188 I have set out the events of that hearing in some detail because they bear upon what subsequently unfolded and the complaints made concerning whether procedural fairness was afforded at the hearing that took place at the July Hearing which was held on 8 and 9 July 2021. Those events cannot be separated from the context of what occurred at the time that the dates for the hearing for the purposes of the s 19 application were set down. What is clear is that as at 12 March 2021, when the hearing dates were set down, Mr Pauga was afforded liberty to apply to raise the jurisdictional points that had been outlined and he was told by the Primary Magistrate that if an application was made then a hearing would be set down for that purpose before the hearing on 8 and 9 July. He was also threatening to commence proceedings in this Court to advance his claims that the Primary Magistrate was proceeding by making directions and orders in a manner that was not permitted by the Extradition Act.
189 On 10 June 2021, Samoa filed submissions in reply in the extradition proceedings before the Primary Magistrate.
190 On 29 June 2021, by reason of quarantine and lockdown measures across Australia relating to COVID-19, those acting for Samoa proposed an online hearing in the following terms:
As the matter does not require evidence to be given, but will proceed by way of submissions on the extradition request, we consider that it would be well-suited to an online hearing.
191 Mr Finlayson responded in the following terms:
We do not join in the suggestion that the hearing next week proceed by way of online hearing.
That is unfair to our client.
Our client is required to be brought before the Court pursuant to the order of remand and the Form 44 issued by the Court.
Both counsel and I were planning to be in attendance. Furthermore, family members, members of the Samoan community are to be in attendance. Those persons include potential witnesses.
There is an international witness who has also been arranged.
Furthermore, the hearing is to concern all matters raised. In that respect we refer to the submissions on the last occasion on the jurisdiction question. Furthermore, we say that the preconditions to the Court proceeding to determine eligibility for surrender have not been satisfied.
Given the developing COVID-19 exigencies we will need to seek to issue summonses for their attendances pursuant to regulations 4 and 5 of the Extradition Regulations. Summonses would be for personal attendance and production of materials. Such summonses require personal attendances.
Furthermore, we confirm we are issuing proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia for habeas corpus, prohibition and certiorari in respect of the entirety of the steps taken by each magistrate and the Brisbane Magistrates Court, and in particular in respect of the conduce of the proceedings by Magistrate Previtera. Those proceedings will seek removal of the proceedings to the Federal Court of Australia for quashing.
The developing and ongoing political crisis in Samoa has interfered with our client's preparation. Indeed, it is a matter of wonderment and concern that you have any legitimate instructions to proceed in the manner you suggest and in light of the issues raised.
…
These matters cannot proceed by way of on-line hearing as suggested.
192 Having regard to aspects of the propositions raised by Mr Pauga, the reference to steps being taken to arrange for witnesses may be especially noted. The letter indicated that Mr Pauga was preparing to proceed with the hearing and was proposing to seek the issue of summonses for personal attendance and production of documents. In the result, no steps were taken for such summonses to be issued.
193 By email in response, those acting for Samoa indicated that they would request a directions hearing at which a request would be made for the matter to proceed online. The email said: 'We note that your client may raise relevant issues regarding the hearing at that time'. Obviously, this was an invitation for those acting for Mr Pauga to raise any of the matters in Mr Finlayson's letter, including the proposed steps concerning the calling of witnesses and the production of documents, with the Primary Magistrate.
194 A directions hearing was convened before the Primary Magistrate on 5 July 2021. Mr Pauga appeared by video. By that time the lockdowns had been lifted and counsel for Samoa indicated that it was willing to proceed in person, but that it was understood that counsel for Mr Pauga was going to ask for orders that the hearing on 8 and 9 July be vacated. Short submissions were made opposing that course. Mr Mancini then said 'we're not making any application now'. This prompted a submission in response to the effect that if there was an application it should be made at that time. The Primary Magistrate then confirmed the position in relation to material for the hearing and that no further material had been received from Mr Pauga.
195 Mr Mancini was then asked to respond. He said: 'We'll be in attendance in person on Thursday and Friday. And so we're proceeding on that basis'. There was no mention of the need for summonses or that it was proposed to call witnesses even though no material had been disclosed as directed. The Primary Magistrate then summarised the position and said:
Mr Mancini has made it clear that there is no application for an adjournment of the hearing on Thursday. He has put on record that he and his instructing solicitor will be here in person on Thursday. I, therefore, propose that this matter proceed commencing 9 am on Thursday the 8ᵗʰ of July as indicated. I will be making an order for either Mr Pauga to appear by video on that day if that's suitable to Mr Mancini.
196 Mr Mancini then said: 'No, your Honour, we require him in person'. After a further exchange about those arrangements, the Primary Magistrate then said:
So just to make clear, Mr Mancini has indicated unequivocally that he and his instructing solicitor will be here in person on Thursday. I will have a notice to produce sent to the prison to have Mr Pauga produced in person.
197 No mention was made by Mr Mancini before the Primary Magistrate of possible proceedings in this Court in the interim.
198 On 5 July 2021, the initial form of the First Application and an affidavit of Mr Finlayson in support was finalised. The application indicated that interlocutory relief may be sought. The First Application was commenced and the matter came before me on 7 July 2021 to determine whether any relief was sought with urgency. Mr Mancini appeared and submitted as to urgency:
Well, your Honour, indeed there is a potential for that because the Extradition Act matter is before the Magistrates tomorrow and Friday. We would anticipate that in recognition of these proceedings … those proceedings will be vacated and adjourned pending these proceedings. If they are not, then there is a need to consider calling this matter on to pursue the interlocutory relief of injunction, and we would seek liberty to do that, as soon as practicable tomorrow, if the proceedings are not vacated on that basis.
199 Mr Mancini also said to this Court that an interlocutory application had not been filed and that an application would be brought if it were necessary to do so. On that basis, no order was made other than to list the proceedings for a first case management hearing. It was indicated that if there was a need to seek orders urgently then that could be done.