Global InformationBreskvar v Wall information
| Breskvar v Wall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | High Court of Australia |
| Decided | 13 December 1971 |
| Citation(s) | [1971] HCA 70, (1971) 126 CLR 376 |
| Case history | |
| Prior action(s) | Breskvar v Wall [1972] Qd R 28 |
| Appealed from | Supreme Court (Qld) |
| Subsequent action(s) | Breskvar v White [1978] Qd R 187 |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Barwick CJ, McTiernan, Menzies, Windeyer, Owen, Walsh and Gibbs JJ |
| Case opinions | |
| 7:0 | |
| Keywords | |
| fraud, indefeasibility of title | |
Breskvar v Wall,[1] was an Australian court case, decided in the High Court on 13 December 1971. The case was an influential decision in property law, specifically the effect of obtaining title by registration under the Torrens title system, the application of the fraud exception to the principle of indefeasibility and whether Frazer v Walker [2] should be followed in Australia. The High Court followed Frazer v Walker in upholding that a bona fide purchaser for value without notice of the fraud obtained an effective title even though the person they purchased from was registered by fraud against the original owner.
The case is best known for the succinct description of the Torrens system of registered title by Chief Justice Garfield Barwick that it "is not a system of registration of title but a system of title by registration".[3][4]
- ^ Breskvar v Wall [1971] HCA 70, (1971) 126 CLR 376 (13 December 1971), High Court.
- ^ Frazer v Walker [1966] UKPC 27, [1967] 1 AC 569, Privy Council (on appeal from New Zealand). LawCite.
- ^ 126 CLR, p. 386, Barwick CJ at [15].
- ^ Castle Constructions Pty Limited v Sahab Holdings Pty Ltd [2013] HCA 11, (2015) 254 CLR 425 (10 April 2013), High Court.