Allan government to limit civil liability for legal claims arising from Nicola Gobbo Lawyer X scandal

A lawyer for Faruk Orman, whose conviction over the murder of Victor Peirce was quashed following the Lawyer X scandal, says a government move to block compensation claims is an “erosion of the rule of law”.

Faruk Orman, the man freed from prison after his conviction over the 2002 Victor Peirce murder was quashed in the wake of the Lawyer X scandal, is in the midst of compensation legal proceedings.

Legal sources estimate the Victorian government has already spent millions of dollars fighting Orman’s case.

The Allan government has sensationally moved to protect itself from legal action over the Lawyer X saga, passing legislation to limit the state’s civil liability for claims arising from using lawyer Nicola Gobbo as a police informant.

Orman in 2019 was acquitted of being the getaway driver in the killing of Peirce because his lawyer was Gobbo.

Two other Gobbo clients, Angelo Venditti and Zlate Cvetanovski, are also seeking compensation from the government.

The lawyer who has represented the three men said on Tuesday the government had a “huge conflict” in its decision to block any compensation claim.

Jeremy King of Robinson Gill said the government had conceded police conduct was “appalling” but now wanted to create a law to dodge the consequences.

“Who benefits from all this? It isn’t the taxpayer,” Mr King said.

“It’s an erosion of the rule of law.”

Faruk Orman walks out of court a free man in 2019. Picture: David Crosling

Melbourne lawyer Nicola Gobbo who was also a police informant. Picture: ABC News

The Allan government will introduce the State Civil Liability (Police Informants) Bill to parliament this week, it was revealed on Tuesday.

If passed it will limit the state’s civil liability for legal claims relating to information sharing or other assistance provided to Victoria Police by both Gobbo and underworld lawyer Joseph Acquaro.

The bill will also knockout a multimillion-dollar claim from Gobbo herself.

“We are taking steps to protect Victorians being burdened from the costs of further spending on these matters so we can continue investing in the things that Victorian families rely on,” Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said.

“We haven’t shied away from confronting the difficult truths that arose from the Royal Commission. At the same time, we acted to ensure events that led to it will never happen again.”

The proposed legislation will not affect any pending or future criminal matters, and will be strictly limited to civil financial compensation.

It will protect Victoria Police and its officers from any legal claims.

Tony Mokbel leaves Melbourne Magistrates’ Court with lawyer Nicola Gobbo in 2004. Picture: Bill McAuley

Joe Acquaro was killed outside his restaurant in Brunswick East in 2016.

The Office of Special Investigator, set up to investigate the Lawyer X scandal, was disbanded last year amid a public spat over the refusal of Director of Public Prosecutions Kerri Judd to lay any charges as a result of its work.

As a result of the OSI’s work, Judge Geoffrey Nettle had recommended at least five people be charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.

In one brief — proposed charges against five officers — his team gathered what he believed were 5000 pages of admissible documentary evidence, many hours of audio recordings and multiple witness statements.

Gobbo is seeking an undisclosed payout for what her lawyers describe as Victoria Police’s “highhanded, insulting or reprehensible” conduct in using her as a police informer and failing to protect her identity.

Her lawyers have argued she has been left fearing for her life because of police mismanagement of her situation.

Detectives at the scene of Joe Acquaro’s killing. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

They say the 18 year saga since she was first registered as a police informer has left her with neurological, vascular, dermatological, orthopaedic and psychiatric injuries.

She will never work again, and has been forced from her home amid the fear of death after her identity was disclosed, they say.

Gobbo has launched legal action seeking aggravated damages for distress, pain, insult, hurt and humiliation suffered.

The gangland barrister turned snitch once boasted she “single-handedly orchestrated” the seizure of $80m worth of assets during her role as a secret police informer.

And in mid-2009, she was demanding a piece of the pie, telling her police handlers she wanted $30m or a percentage of assets seized by Victoria Police in exchange for entering the witness protection program.

Lawyers representing Gobbo slammed the attempt to block her legal fight.

“This outrageous Bill represents yet another attempt to extinguish the rights of a class of people who would otherwise garner very little public sympathy,” Angela Sdrinis said.

“It is an extraordinary attack on the rule of law and the possibility of accountability for abuses of power by police and other state actors.”

“People tend to forget that Ms Gobbo was 25 years old when she became a barrister.

“She was young, naive, impressionable, and vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation by those in positions of significant power.

“The government concern is not for taxpayer dollars, the government concern is saving face.

“The state of Victoria has long since abandoned Ms Gobbo, and this Bill seeks to silence not only her litigation, but the long-kept secrets it would reveal”.

Law Institute of Victoria chief Adam Awty said the proposed laws would stop anyone convicted and sentenced as the result of Gobbo’s behaviour from being financially compensated.

“We understand the attractiveness of this legislative option and that, on the face of it, the public will be supportive because of the huge amount of money that has been expended so far,” Mr Awty said.

“But the LIV believes that this fundamentally undermines the rule of law and administration of justice.

“The state has enormous power over its citizens, and for it to legislate out of liability when the power is wielded improperly is wrong.”