Samsonidis v Commissioner, Australian Federal Police

THE COURT 1 Before the Court is an appeal, the hearing of which was expedited, from a judgment of the Court given on 7 September 2007, in which the appellant's application for declarations, injunctions and administrative law remedies in relation to the provision by the respondent of certain materials to the criminal justice authorities of Greece was dismissed. As amended, the appellant's notice of appeal takes issue with one aspect only of the decision of the trial judge, and in these reasons we shall advert only to so much of his Honour's reasons for judgment as is necessary to deal with that aspect. As will appear, the appeal was heard, and we have been obliged to determine it, in circumstances of some urgency, which has made it necessary for us to confine our reasons to the minimum necessary adequately to dispose of the single ground relied upon by the appellant. 2 The appellant is in custody in Greece, awaiting trial on charges of importing a drug of dependence, trafficking in a drug of dependence, possessing a drug of dependence for the purpose of trafficking, attempting to possess a drug of dependence, money laundering, possessing a firearm and possessing the proceeds of crime. At the time of the hearing before the trial judge on 3 September 2007, the appellant's criminal trial was listed to commence in Athens on 10 September 2007, but, for reasons unconnected with the present proceeding, the commencement of that trial was adjourned, and is now listed for 5 October 2007. 3 It seems that, in October and December 2006, the criminal justice authorities in Greece made a mutual assistance request - which activated the operation of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 (Cth)("the MACM Act") - to the Australian Federal Police ("AFP"), of which the respondent is the Commissioner, in relation to the Greek investigation into the involvement of the appellant, and one other, in various activities said to be criminal, including drug trafficking and money laundering. As a result of that request, the AFP sent certain documents, and provided certain information, to the Greek authorities, including that set out in, and enclosed with, a letter dated 19 June 2007, to the terms of which we shall refer further. In the proceeding before the trial judge, the appellant contended that one of the enclosures to that letter contained information thereby communicated to the Greek authorities in breach of s 63(1)(a) of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth) ("the TIA Act"). The respondent contended, both before the trial judge and on appeal, that there was no contravention of s 63(1)(a) because -