Fifty inmates sued the State of New South Wales for failing to supply or permit possession of condoms by male prisoners. The court of first instance held that applicants could sue for a breach of the duty of care owed to the prisoners but it could only be on behalf of the four aggrieved inmates at a time as proceedings involving 50 prisoners would be unmanageable and unwieldy. The Court also rejected the prisoners’ claim to habeas corpus. The prisoners appealed the decision.

The Court upheld the lower court decision, holding that the writ of habeas corpus does not extend to situations involving deplorable detention conditions and agreeing with the need to have fewer plaintiffs at one time. In addition, the Court dismissed the prisoners’ desire to rely on the Magna Carta, holding that it does not provide a statutory basis for finding the denial of condoms by prison authorities unlawful.

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