Division 2 Committal proceedings generally
55 Magistrate to conduct proceedings
Committal proceedings are to be conducted and determined by a Magistrate.
56 Committal proceedings to be heard in open court
(1) Committal proceedings are to be heard as if in open court.(2) This section is subject to any other Act or law.(3) For the purpose only of facilitating the use of an electronic case management system established under the Electronic Transactions Act 2000 in committal proceedings, the hearing of a matter may be conducted in the absence of the public, with the consent of the parties to the proceedings concerned, if the matter:(a) arises after the first appearance of the accused person in committal proceedings, and(b) is of a procedural nature, and(c) does not require the resolution of a disputed issue, and(d) does not involve a person giving oral evidence.
57 Part does not affect nature of committal proceedings
Nothing in this Part alters the nature of a committal proceeding from that existing immediately before the commencement of this section.
(1) A Magistrate may transfer committal proceedings to another Magistrate in another place, if satisfied that:(a) the principal witnesses to prove the offence live in another place where the offence is alleged to have been committed, or(b) for any other reason, it is in the interests of justice to do so.(2) The Magistrate may, subject to the Bail Act 1978, make orders necessary to enable the accused person to be brought before the other Magistrate and to be dealt with according to law.
59 Application of other procedural provisions to committal proceedings
The following provisions of this Act apply, subject to any necessary modifications, to committal proceedings conducted by a Magistrate in the same way as they apply to proceedings for offences before the Local Court:(a) sections 30, 31, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 and 44,(b) Part 3 (Attendance of witnesses and production of evidence in lower courts) of Chapter 4,(c) Part 4 (Warrants) of Chapter 4.
60 Time for taking prosecution evidence
(1) On the first return date for a court attendance notice in any committal proceedings, or at such later time or times as the Magistrate determines, the Magistrate must set:(a) the date, time and place for taking the prosecution evidence and the time within which written statements, and copies of any proposed exhibits identified in the statements (or a notice relating to inspection of them), must be served on the accused person, and(b) the time within which the accused person must serve on the prosecutor any notice requesting the attendance of a person who made a written statement.Note. Prosecution evidence is to be given by written statements (see Division 3).(2) The registrar must notify the accused person of the date, time and place, and any other time set by the Magistrate, if the accused person is not present.(3) A registrar may exercise the Magistrate’s functions under this section.
61 Discharge of accused person if prosecutor not present for taking of evidence
(1) If the prosecutor fails to appear on the day and at the time and place set for taking prosecution evidence in any committal proceedings, the Magistrate must:(a) discharge the accused person as to the offence the subject of the proceedings, or(b) if the Magistrate thinks it appropriate, adjourn the hearing to a specified time and place.(2) The adjournment must not exceed 8 days or such longer period as the accused person may consent to.(3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the accused person is refused bail (as referred to in section 25 of the Bail Act 1978).Note. Section 25 of the Bail Act 1978 specifies the maximum period for adjournments if bail has been refused.
62 Prosecution evidence and initial determination
(1) The Magistrate must take the prosecution evidence in accordance with Division 3 and must determine whether the prosecution evidence is capable of satisfying a jury, properly instructed, beyond reasonable doubt that the accused person has committed an indictable offence.(2) The Magistrate must discharge the accused person in relation to the offence if, in any committal proceedings, after all the prosecution evidence is taken and after considering all the evidence before the Magistrate, the Magistrate is not of the opinion that, having regard to all the evidence before the Magistrate, the evidence is capable of satisfying a reasonable jury, properly instructed, beyond reasonable doubt that the accused person has committed an indictable offence.
63 Where prosecution evidence sufficient to satisfy jury
(1) If in any committal proceedings, after all the prosecution evidence is taken and after considering all the evidence before the Magistrate, the Magistrate is of the opinion that, having regard to all the evidence before the Magistrate, the evidence is capable of satisfying a reasonable jury, properly instructed, beyond reasonable doubt that the accused person has committed an indictable offence, the Magistrate must give the accused person an opportunity to answer the charge and a warning in the form prescribed by the rules.(2) The Magistrate must proceed to take any statement by or any evidence adduced by the accused person in accordance with Division 4.(3) If the accused person is not present, the Magistrate may make a decision under section 64 without complying with subsection (2).(4) If the accused person is a corporation and the corporation appears by a representative, the representative may answer the charge on behalf of the corporation.
When all the prosecution evidence and any defence evidence have been taken in committal proceedings, the Magistrate must consider all the evidence and determine whether or not in his or her opinion, having regard to all the evidence before the Magistrate, there is a reasonable prospect that a reasonable jury, properly instructed, would convict the accused person of an indictable offence.
(1) If the Magistrate is of the opinion that there is a reasonable prospect that a reasonable jury, properly instructed, would convict the accused person of an indictable offence, the Magistrate must commit the accused person for trial.(2) In the case of an accused person that is a corporation, the Magistrate may, if of that opinion, make an order authorising an indictment to be filed for the offence named in the order or for such other offence as the Attorney General or Director of Public Prosecutions considers proper.(3) The making of an order under subsection (2) is taken to be committal for trial.
If the Magistrate is not of the opinion that there is a reasonable prospect that a reasonable jury, properly instructed, would convict the accused person of an indictable offence, the Magistrate must immediately order the accused person to be discharged in relation to the offence.
67 Committal may be set aside by Magistrate
(1) An accused person who was not present and, if not present, was not represented when committed for trial may apply to a Magistrate to have an order for the accused person’s committal for trial set aside.(2) The application must be made before the presentation or filing of an indictment against the accused person.(3) The Magistrate may set aside the order for committal for trial and any associated warrant to commit the accused person if the Magistrate is satisfied that good and proper reason is shown for the absence of the accused person or a representative of the accused person and that it is in the interests of justice to do so.
68 Accused person may waive committal hearing
Despite any other provision of this Part, the Magistrate may, at any time, on the application of the accused person, and with the consent of the prosecutor, commit the accused person for trial.
69 Magistrate may end witnesses’ evidence
The Magistrate may end the examination or cross-examination on any particular matter of any witness giving evidence for the prosecution or the defence in any committal proceedings if he or she is satisfied that further examination or cross-examination on the matter will not help the Magistrate to make the initial determination under section 62 or a decision under section 64.
70 Certain evidence may not be excluded
A Magistrate in committal proceedings may not exclude evidence on any of the grounds set out in section 90 (Discretion to exclude admissions) or Part 3.11 (Discretions to exclude evidence) of the Evidence Act 1995.