Criminal law - Murder - Evidence - Confessions - Admissibility of confession obtained by undercover police operation - Whether undercover operatives persons in authority - Voluntariness - Reliability - Unfairness discretion - Public policy discretion.

Criminal law - Murder - Evidence - Confessions - Accused involved in purported criminal activity with undercover police operatives - Confessions made to undercover operatives - Whether confessions voluntary - Whether made to persons in authority - Discretion - Admissibility of scenario evidence - Directions to be given to jury - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) ss 398A 568(1)

Criminal law - Evidence - Hearsay - Waiver - Whether right to object to inadmissible evidence waived by defence counsel - No miscarriage of justice - Sentence - Sentence not manifestly excessive - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) s 568(1)

Criminal law - Director's appeal against sentence - Failing to stop after fatal accident and render assistance - Conspiracy to attempt to pervert course of justice - Conspiracy impeding police investigation - Head sentence not manifestly inadequate - Principles applicable to fixing non-parole period - Non-parole period manifestly inadequate - Double jeopardy in director's appeals - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) s 567A.

Criminal law - Director's appeal - Validity of sentence where total effective sentence exceeds 12 months and combined custody and treatment order imposed - Sentencing Act 1991 (No 49) s 18Q

Negligence - Occupiers' liability - Duty of care - Specificity - Personal injuries - Statutory authorities - Public recreational facility - Concealed hazard - Swimming hole in alluvial lagoon - Diving accident - Local government council - Passive recreational park under council's management and control - Lagoon managed and controlled by State Forests Commission - Log extending from bank into lagoon - Past history of public safely using log as diving platform - Council promoting use of park and swimming hole - Park providing access to log - Lagoon subjected to abnormally large flood - Ensuing alluvial action reducing depth of swimming hole - Respective duties of council and commission - Whether council ought to have been aware of risk created by alluvial action.

Negligence - Breach of duty - Standard of care - Foreseeability and magnitude of risk - Application of contemporary community standards of reasonableness.

Negligence - Causation - Personal injuries - Public recreational facility - Swimming hole - Water depth reduced due to alluvial action - Diving accident - Whether warning sign would have averted accident - Contributory negligence - Whether diver should have checked water's depth before diving.

Criminal law - Sentence - Manslaughter - Use of sentencing statistics - Protective custody a relevant sentencing factor.

Limitation of actions - Personal injury - Negligence - Disease or disorder - Post-traumatic stress disorder - Accrual of cause of action - Melbourne-Voyager collision (1964) - Action by Melbourne crew member - Disorder contracted soon after collision - Diagnosis not made until 2000 - Whether disorder such that its contraction could not be known - Limitation period beginning when plaintiff first knew of injury - Actual knowledge - Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (No 6295) s 5(1)(a) 5(1A)

Sale of land - Contract of sale - Default - Vendor's rescission notice - Purchaser's claim for specific performance - Contract conditional upon purchaser obtaining redevelopment permit - Dispute as to whether qualifying permit issued - Vendor requiring completion by stipulated date - Whether notice validly served - Settlement appointed for late afternoon of vendor's stipulated completion date - Delays on purchaser's side after arrival at vendor's solicitors' office - No unconditional tender of balance of purchase price - Vendor's solicitors requiring purchaser's party to leave office at close of normal business hours - Whether purchaser's completion obstructed by vendor's conduct - Whether purchaser had until midnight to complete - Relief against forfeiture - Whether vendor's conduct unconscientious - Value of property increased by redevelopment permit secured at purchaser's expense - Whether purchaser entitled to return of deposit - Transfer of Land Act 1958 (No 6399) Sch 7, Table A - Property Law Act 1958 (No 6344) s 49(2)

Defamation - Defences - Justification - Particulars - Material facts - Whether name of unidentified person referred to in defence a material fact - Prospective witness - Supreme Court Rules Ch I, r 13.

Defamation - Defences - Comment - Rolled-up plea - Particulars - No general rule that plaintiff entitled to substance of comment.

Practice and procedure - Case management - Defamation - Defences - Justification - Particulars - Material facts - Prospective witness - Newspaper rule - Pre-trial direction for exchange of lists of names of witnesses could be appropriate.

Criminal law - Sexual offences - Evidence - Lies and consciousness of guilt - Identification evidence - Whether judge obliged to warn jury about unreliability of recognition evidence - Circumstantial evidence supporting direct identification evidence - Aggravated burglary - Whether accused entered as trespasser - Elements of offence - Sentence - Element of double punishment - Accused resentenced - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) s 76.

Tort - Negligence - Duty - Non-delegable - Applicable relationships - Criteria - Occupiers of land - Land abutting major highway - Animals - Control - Escape of horse - Passing motorist injured - Whether occupier owed non-delegable duty to motorist - Magnitude of foreseeable risk of accident and injury - Whether a jury question - Standard of care - Contribution - Apportionment between occupier and owner of horse.

Criminal law - Intentionally causing serious injury - Evidence - Conduct of case by counsel - Inferences to be drawn from differences in method of conducting defence at earlier trial - Consciousness of guilt - Requirement that items relied on as demonstrating consciousness of guilt be identified - Crown witnesses prisoners - Corroboration - Directions on unreliability.

Town and country planning - Planning scheme - State and local policy objectives - Permit application - Mixed use development - Relevant considerations - Responsible authority entitled to consider "any strategic plan, policy statement, code or guideline ... adopted by a Minister" - Document issued in names of and signed by three ministers - Melbourne 2030: Planning for Sustainable Growth - Whether document "adopted" a question of fact - Relative weight to be accorded to planning scheme and ministerial strategic plan - Residential amenity - Future housing needs - Sustainable development - Redevelopment of key sites - Mixed use zone - Higher density development - Planning and Environment Act 1987 (No 45) ss 4, 60(1).

Town and country planning - Practice and procedure - Minister's right to appear in Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal - Minister not exercising right - Minister seeking leave to appeal against tribunal decision.

Criminal law - Sentencing - Sexual offences - Imposition of sex offender registration order - Sexual offences against adults - Reporting obligations - Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 ss 7(1)(c) 11(5) 34(1) 34(4)

Criminal law - Motor vehicles - Road safety - Preliminary breath test - Belief of police on reasonable grounds - Refusal to undergo test - Whether occurrence of accident must be proved beyond reasonable doubt - Road Safety Act 1986 (No 127) ss 49(1)(c) 53(1)(c)

Criminal law - Evidence - Confessions and admissions - Inducements - Unfairness discretion - Interrogation of young people - Requirement that independent person be present at interview - Role of independent person - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) s 464E - Evidence Act 1958 (No 6246) s 149

Criminal law - Murder - Defence of accident - Direction that fatal act must not be intended or foreseen by accused and could not reasonably have been foreseen by ordinary person inappropriate - Causation - Self-defence - Manslaughter - Directions - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) s 568(1)

Criminal law - Evidence - Admission - Admission made to brother-in-law when interview suspended overheard by police - Interview recommenced and admission not put to accused - Whether discretion to admit evidence wrongly exercised - Whether warning should have been given - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) ss 464C 464H

Medical practitioners and services - Artificial human reproduction - Wife's application for authorisation of removal of spermatozoa and associated tissue from body of recently deceased husband - Urgency - Jurisdiction - Inherent jurisdiction - Whether serious issue to be tried - Proposed order permissible under legislation regulating removal of human tissue - Doubt as to whether proposed order permissible under legislation regulating infertility treatment - Distinction between order authorising removal and subsequent order as to use - Balance of convenience test applied - Removal order made - Human Tissue Act 1982 (No 9860) ss 3, 6, 8, 25, 26, 44 - Infertility Treatment Act 1995 (No 63) ss 3 12 43 51 56

Building contracts - Domestic building works - Disputes - Legislative prohibition on reference of disputes to arbitration - Future and existing disputes - Voluntary ad hoc reference of existing dispute to building consultant for binding determination - Parties not prohibited from adopting alternative dispute resolution - Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (No 91) ss 1 57 132

Appeal - Court of Appeal - Practice and procedure - Outline of submissions - Procedure to be followed by party when detailed written argument required because of complexity or other reason - Practice Statement CA1 of 1995.

Real property - Sale of land - First home owner grant scheme - Eligibility for grant - Eligible transaction - Characterisation - Contract for the purchase of a home - Property devised by will to deceased's three children as tenants in common - Oral agreement for one party to acquire interests of other parties - Transfer of land - Consideration recited as devise to one party and as payment to other parties - Whether acquiring party eligible for first home owner grant - Whether contract for the purchase of a home - Whether agreement to disclaim testamentary gifts - First Home Owner Grant Act 2000 (No 5) ss 5 7 13

Criminal law - Indecent acts with child under 16 - Incest - Evidence - Evidence of uncharged acts - Propensity evidence - Relationship evidence - Directions to jury - Full Longman warning not required - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) s 398A.

Costs - Appeal - Offer of compromise - Rejection - Consequences - Differences between rules governing trial offers and appeal offers - Calderbank offer - Successful respondent seeking indemnity costs - Distinction between indemnity costs and solicitor-client costs - No presumption that party should pay indemnity costs if rejection of offer leads to less favourable result - Broad reasonableness test - Indicative factors - Supreme Court Rules Ch I rr 26.08 26.12

Restitution - Unjust enrichment - Mistake of law - Horse race - Prize moneys - Stewards' inquiry into running of race - Stakes payment officer withholding first place getter's prize money and paying prize moneys to provisional second and third place getters - Winning horse disqualified following completion of inquiry - Stakes payment officer distributing balance of winnings in keeping with revised placings - Payment officer unaware of right of appeal against stewards' findings - Right of appeal exercised - Revised placings reversed by Racing Appeals Board - Owner of second place getter refusing to return additional payment - Recovery action by racing clubs - Mistake sufficient to create obligation to make restitution - Payment not voluntary - Test - Categories - Defendant failing to prove honest receipt - Misprediction.

Contract - Racing - Rules - Prize moneys - Mistaken payment - Recovery action by racing clubs - Australian Rules of Racing AR 173.

Costs - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal - Domestic Building List - Claims under building insurance for non-completion of works - Agreement to compromise claims - Agreement to pay reasonable legal costs and expenses - Costs to be assessed by tribunal in default of agreement - Whether on solicitor/client or party/party basis - Applicable principles.

Negligence - Duty of care - Statutory authority - New South Wales - Child welfare - Ward of State - Guardian - Close and direct relationship - Ward's vulnerability - Foster care placements - Guardian's discretionary power - Exercise of power increasing foreseeable risk of significant harm to child - Criteria for imposition of duty satisfied - Child Welfare Act 1939 (NSW)

Negligence - Breach of duty - Standard of care applicable in 1980s - Statutory authority - Child Welfare Department - Ward of State - Foster care placements - Child sexually assaulted by foster father - Child restored to care of natural father - Child sexually assaulted by natural father - No negligence in restoration decision - Child welfare authority subsequently informed of incestuous relationship - Cumulative effect of succession of omissions - Negligent failure to exercise power to remove ward.

Equity - Fiduciary duty - Breach - Statutory guardian - Ward - Child exposed to risk of significant harm - No entitlement to equitable compensation.

Damages - Assessment - Personal injury - Ward of State - Female child subjected to prolonged sexual assaults by natural father - Children born of incestuous relationship - Pre-existing psychiatric condition - Borderline personality disorder - Post-traumatic stress disorder - Earlier maternal deprivation and assaults by foster parent - Child deprived of remedial education - Prolonged aggravation - Loss of earnings - Diminution of earning capacity - Assessment in situation where no criteria available.

Damages - Exemplary damages - Defendant's conduct warranting disapproval - No contumelious disregard of plaintiff's rights.

Limitation of actions - New South Wales - Negligence - Statutory authority - Whether limitation period expired - Plaintiff under disability - Limitation Act 1969 (NSW) (No 31) ss 11(3) 14(1) 60G 60I

Criminal law - Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) - Ex parte restraining orders - Application to vary by third party - Legislative framework and purpose - Property under Act - Ownership of proceeds of bank account - Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) ss 5 19 38 39 49 58 276 329 330 338