A witness served with a subpoena ad testificandum has standing to seek leave to appeal against the refusal of a pseudonym order, being a person 'aggrieved' or 'sufficiently interested'. The refusal of a pseudonym application constitutes an appealable 'order' within s 101 of the Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW). When assessing pseudonym applications by prisoner witnesses, the court should not require evidence of actual threats (the purpose of the order being to avoid such threats arising), and should give weight to the well-established judicial recognition that informers face real dangers, with those dangers being greater for persons inside gaol. A pseudonym order for a witness (as opposed to a party) involves only 'minimalist interference with open justice'.
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