article: It's not every day two senior barristers in the nation's highest court go head to head over the fate of a pooch on death row. But on Tuesday in Canberra that's exactly what happened. Condemned Staffordshire terrier Izzy is set to be destroyed after she bit a woman in August 2012 after escaping from her owner Tania Isbester's backyard in The Basin, east Melbourne, Victoria. Lawyers for Victorian woman Tania Isbester appealed to the High Court hoping to have her Staffordshire terrier, deemed aggressive by Knox City Council, saved from being put down. The woman who Izzy bit suffered a 1.5cm to her finger on August 4 in 2012, which is deemed as a 'serious injury' under the Domestic Animal Act in Victorian law, and Izzy was seized by the council in June 2013. This is the first time a dog on death row is having its case heard in Australia's highest court. Condemned Staffordshire terrier Izzy is set to be destroyed but could be saved by a final High Court bid . Richard Kendall QC, representing Ms Isbester, argued a member of the panel which determined Izzy's fate had a conflict of interest. Kirsten Hughes investigated the attack Izzy made in August 2012 and presented evidence at a later Magistrates Court hearing in which Ms Isbester pleaded guilty. Ms Hughes then informed her about a panel hearing to determine the dog's fate, before participating in it and helping to draw up the final reasons, Mr Kendall said. 'Ms Hughes had a fundamental part in the process of decision making,' he told the court, claiming she was both the accuser and acting as judge. Justice Patrick Keane took exception to that characterisation criticising the lawyer for 'sliding into personal attacks'. 'Well, I'll desist,' Mr Kendall conceded. Lawyers for the council argued there was no judge in the case, but rather an administrator making an administrative decision. Stephen Donaghue QC acknowledged Ms Hughes played a role on the panel, but said the final decision was made by another member. Ms Isbester had three Staffordshire terriers, including Izzy, which were involved in attacks on other dogs after escaping from her backyard in The Basin, a suburb in Melbourne's east. In 2013 she pleaded guilty to a charge relating to an 1.5cm cut allegedly caused by Izzy on the middle finger of a woman trying to pull the dog away from her daughters. A dog on death row will for the first time in history have its case heard in the High Court of Australia . The dog has been housed by the RSPCA since it was seized two years ago, sparking a lengthy legal battle. Lawyers representing the dog at no cost to the client say the local council that is fighting for Izzy's destruction in the High Court is wasting public money by perusing the case. City of Knox council has refused RSPCA South Australia's offer to rehabilitate the pet and assume all liability for her at no extra cost from the time of collection. 'The council is prepared to spend a six figure sum fighting to kill a dog when they might lose in the High Court,' barrister Graeme Mcewen, founder of the Barristers Animal Welfare Panel told Daily Mail Australia. 'No dog should be allowed to be killed by a council expect by court order,' Mr Mcewen argued. In normal circumstances Izzy's case would never have made it to the High Court but her fate has taken an unusual twist due to the manner in which the local council made in administrative decision  for her to be put down. In a letter to the City of Knox council, the CEO of RSPCA SA Tim Vasudeva, wrote an offer to assess and then possibly rehabilitate and rehome Izzy at no cost to the council instead of seeing her destroyed. The letter, seen by Daily Mail Australia and written on September 9, 2014, said: . 'As discussed late last week, I can confirm that RSPCA South Australia would be happy to transport the dog known as Izzy (owned by Tania Isbester) to our Lonsdale Animal Shelter here in Adelaide in order for her to undergo an extensive behavioural assessment under the guidance of our qualified behaviourists.' 'This would involve a wide variety of behavioural interactions and analysis both inside and outside kennels, in our indoor behavioural centre and our outdoor fenced enclosures. The purpose of this would be to determine, in as thorough a manner as possible, the rehabilitation prospects of this dog. 'We are able to arrange collection and transport at no expense to Knox City Council. RSPCA South Australia are prepared to take Izzy into our care and custody and assume all liability for this dog from the time of collection.' In September 2013, Izzy's owner Ms Isbester pleaded guilty to charges of her dog causing 'serious injury' at Ringwood Magistrates Court but the local council, the City of Knox, did not apply for a destruction order on Izzy from the magistrate at that time. If they had applied for the order from the magistrate, the question of whether the penalty (death) was proportionate to the injury caused (a 1.5 centimetre cut) would have been raised on appeal to a judge at the county court. Instead, the council ruled that the dog should be destroyed during a council panel meeting. During the panel hearing, which took place on 30 September, 2013, at Knox Civil Centre, one of the people on the panel was the same council officer who brought the charges against Izzy's owner Ms Isbester. The team of barristers fighting Izzy's case from the Barristers Animal Welfare Panel, including Richard Kendall QC and Andrew Felkel, is now challenging the decision that the panel came to  based on administrative law grounds. 'The council officer who brought the charges then sat as a member of the three person panel which decided to put the dog down,' Mr Mcewen told Daily Mail Australia. 'The question of law is whether a fair minded observer might think that the accuser sitting on a panel is a) a conflict of interest or b) with a disposition of pre judgement.' Izzy has been living in a cage at the RSPCA centre in Victoria for more than 21 months while the legal battle has played out. Victoria's highest court first upheld the decision to destroy her on September 10, 2014, but the barristers have now been granted Special Leave permission to appeal to the High Court of Australia. Mr Mcewen admitted: 'It's a bit of a story.' 'Only one in ten cases get through on special leave application.' In a letter to the City of Knox council, the CEO of RSPCA SA Tim Vasudeva, wrote an offer to assess and then possibly rehabilitate and rehome her at no cost to the council instead of seeing her destroyed. But the council knocked back the offer. 'Rather than accept the offer and bring the matter to an end - avoiding legal proceedings at cost and removing her from their municipal boundaries of City of Knox - and not leaving a family heartbroken… the City of Knox refuses and now they have got to fight in the high court,' Mr Mcewen said. The hearing continues.
highlights: The City of Knox council made an 'administrative decision' to kill Izzy .
  An appeal to save the dog has begun in Australia's High Court on Tuesday .
  The Staffordshire terrier bit a woman in August 2012 .
  She suffered a 1.5cm cut but it was classed as a 'serious injury'
  Council decided to destroy Izzy during a council panel meeting .
  Normally a magistrate decides whether a dog should be killed .
  The Barristers Animal Welfare Panel are fighting her case at no cost .
  If they win the council will have to pay legal fees .
  RSPCA SA offered to take Izzy and assess her for rehabilitation .
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