High Court decision opens way for claims on abuse

A landmark decision by the High Court could open the door for a string of legal claims against ­institutions involved in historical sexual abuse.

Victims advocate and former Australian of the Year Grace Tame says the decision would give hope to the community. Picture: Chris Kidd

A landmark decision by the High Court could open the door for a string of legal claims against ­institutions involved in historical sexual abuse.

The High Court on Wednesday overturned a permanent stay that had been granted by the NSW Court of Appeal. That permanent stay had effectively stalled the efforts of a woman – referred to in the judgment as GLJ – to sue the Catholic Church over abuse she said she suffered at the hands of one of a priest who had since died.

Institutions had previously successfully argued that claims should be permanently stayed because the deaths of the alleged perpetrators meant they could no longer be questioned about the alleged abuse.

Three of the five High Court judges who heard the case found the reasoning of the lower court was wrong. Victim advocates say the Catholic Church and other institutions have used permanent stays to kill off cases and compel other claimants into ­financial settlements that would be lower than would other be the case.

“The Court of Appeal was wrong to conclude that there could be no fair trial of these proceedings,” Chief Justice Susan Kiefel and judges Stephen Gageler and Jayne Jagot found in their majority judgment.

The judgment noted that the 1996 death of the Lismore priest behind the alleged offending against GLJ, Father Anderson, “did not prevent the diocese from subsequently finding to its own satisfaction that complaints of sexual abuse by him while a priest had been substantiated and should be the subject of the payment of monetary compensation”.

Victims advocate and former Australian of the Year Grace Tame said the decision would give hope to the community. “Time and again, we have seen permanent stays awarded by the courts, effectively locking out survivors from justice,” she said.

“We have also seen institutions threaten to apply for permanent stays in an attempt to force survivors to settle out of court for far less than they deserve – not that there is any amount of money that could repair a permanently corrupted childhood and remove the pain of being sexually violated.”

She called for reforms to allow those “bullied” into settlements to have their day in court.