title: R v Associated Northern Collieries
text: # R v Associated Northern Collieries
  
  R v Associated Northern Collieries (the Coal-Vend Case) is a decision of the High Court of Australia concerning the activities of the Coal-Vend cartel. The convictions entered by Isaacs J in this decision were later set aside by the Full Court (Griffith CJ, Barton and O'Connor JJ) in Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd v The King.
  
  ## Decision
  
  Following a trial in the original jurisdiction of the High Court, Isaacs J convicted each of the 40 defendants (16 individuals, 22 corporations and 2 commercial $trusts)^{:396}$ of cartel offences against the Australian Industries Preservation Act, a (now repealed) antitrust law based on the United States' Sherman Act.
  
  ## Political context
  
  The trial was eagerly followed in the news media. Newspapers such as the Sydney Morning Herald regularly reported on the daily course of the trial.
  
  