More details about the case of the man dubbed Witness J, who was secretly jailed after admitting to mishandling classified information, may soon be released.
The case came to light when Witness J took civil action against Canberra's jail.
He had been jailed for 15 months, after pleading guilty to the charges in the ACT Supreme Court.
But his case was kept secret under Section 22 of the National Security Intelligence Act, and he was not even allowed to tell people at the jail who he was.
The ruling on his civil case was published in 2019, but the sentencing remarks by then Justice John Burns have remained under wraps.
The court is considering an application from a media outlet to release the remarks.
Lawyers for the federal government and Witness J told the court today they both agreed the remarks should be published, although they are still negotiating the form.
Any version of the remarks that is published is likely to be redacted.
In the meantime, the ACT's Chief Justice Lucy McCallum has taken aim at the government over a visit to her office by someone from an "agency" who was to brief her staff about the handling of sensitive material in the case.
"[It was] the briefing they need to have access to the documents," Chief Justice McCallum said.
Chief Justice McCallum told the court today the officer demanded her staff sign an agreement that would have exposed them to criminal liability.
"I don't want to sound judgy… but this is my court," she said.
Lawyers for the federal Attorney-General agreed to look into the situation.
In a statement, a spokesman for Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said court proceedings, including judgements and reasons, "should be as open as possible, whilst ensuring national security information is protected".
However, the spokesman said it was "a matter for the court to determine what [was] published".
The case is expected to be back in court in April.
