Judges to be protected against civil lawsuits after Salvatore Vasta sued over wrongful imprisonment

Australian government to grant federal circuit court and family court judges the same protections as other commonwealth judges under new legislation

The federal government is preparing to introduce reforms granting greater protections to inferior court judges after a landmark case in which a wrongfully imprisoned man successfully sued Salvatore Vasta.

Vasta, a judge in the federal circuit court, was successfully sued this year by a man who he falsely imprisoned during a routine property dispute after a series of serious and fundamental errors" and gross and obvious irregularity of procedure".