GLJ v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore
[2023] HCA 32 · Kiefel CJ, Gageler, Steward, Gleeson and Jagot JJ
This was an appeal to the High Court concerning whether a child sexual abuse claim could go ahead despite the death of the alleged abuser. The plaintiff, identified only as GLJ, alleged that a Catholic priest sexually assaulted her in 1968 when she was 14 years old, and she sued the Diocese decades later after limitation periods for child abuse claims were abolished. The priest had died in 1996, and the Diocese argued that no fair trial was possible because it could not get his account of events. The Court of Appeal had permanently stopped the case, but the High Court (by majority) disagreed and ordered that the case proceed to trial. The Court held that abolishing limitation periods for child abuse created a new legal context in which the mere passing of time and loss of evidence does not, by itself, make a trial unfair, and that the Diocese already had considerable documentary evidence about the priest's conduct. Two judges dissented, considering the trial would be unfair.
Incident & injury
Alleged sexual assault of the plaintiff when she was 14 years old by a Catholic priest (Father Anderson) who attended her family home to provide pastoral support; institutional/vicarious liability claim against the Diocese.
- Body regions
- Psychiatric
- Diagnoses
- Complex post-traumatic stress disorder, Chronic and recurrent depressive disorders, Generalised anxiety disorder, Panic disorder, Sexual disorder, Enduring post-traumatic personality change, Harmful alcohol use
- Incident date
- 1 January 1968
- Location
- Lismore, New South Wales
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 1 November 2023
- Claim type
- Historical Abuse
- Proceeding
- Appeal
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- 14
- Occupation
- Student
Outcome
The High Court (3:2, Kiefel CJ, Gageler and Jagot JJ in the majority; Steward and Gleeson JJ dissenting) allowed GLJ's appeal, set aside the Court of Appeal's permanent stay, and ordered that the underlying child sexual abuse proceedings against the Diocese proceed to trial. The Court held that the correctness standard applied to appellate review and that the Diocese had not proved a fair trial was impossible.
Key issues
GLJ v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore [2023] HCA 32
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