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Supreme Court of New South Wales - Court of Appeal |
Last Updated: 16 February 2009
NEW SOUTH WALES COURT OF APPEAL
CITATION: Robinson v Zhang [2005]
NSWCA 439
FILE NUMBER(S):
40505/05
HEARING DATE(S):
18 November 2005
JUDGMENT DATE: 14/12/2005
PARTIES:
Dr
Denise Robinson (Plaintiff)
Qun Zhang (Defendant)
JUDGMENT OF: Basten
JA Barr J Hall J
LOWER COURT JURISDICTION: Local Court
LOWER
COURT FILE NUMBER(S): 5979-05-86
LOWER COURT JUDICIAL OFFICER:
Miszalski LCM
COUNSEL:
R. Cogswell SC (Plaintiff)
T. Watts/A.
Ryan
SOLICITORS:
I V Knight, Crown Solicitor (Plaintiff)
Gary
Cleary & Associates, Ettalong (Defendant)
CATCHWORDS:
EVIDENCE
– s138 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) – improperly obtained evidence
- whether prosecuting authority acted ‘improperly’ in procuring
minors to
purchase cigarettes as part of ‘compliance testing’
– extent to which common law principles of Ridgeway v the Queen
survive
the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) – consideration of whether statements made in
Second Reading Speech for the Public Health Act 1991 (NSW) that
‘prosecution is used by public health units and the department as a last
resort’ informed the propriety of
the conduct of the Department of Health
for the purposes of s138 – whether finding that one of the minors could
have been in
her early twenties affected the propriety of the conduct of the
Department of Health.
COSTS – whether the Suitors’ Fund Act
applies in relation to appeals from convictions for summary offences or is
limited
to civil proceedings.
LEGISLATION CITED:
Crimes (Local Courts
Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW)
Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW)
Evidence
Act 1995 (NSW)
Liquor Act 1982 (NSW)
Public Health Act 1991
(NSW)
Suitors' Fund Act 1951 (NSW)
DECISION:
(1) Set aside the
order of the Local Court made on 12 May 2005 dismissing the proceedings brought
against the Defendant alleging
an offence under s 59 of the Public Health Act
1991 (NSW)
(2) Remit the matter to the Local Court to be determined in
accordance with the conclusions of this Court that
(a) the evidence
relied on by the Defendant was not capable of establishing an impropriety for
the purpose of s 138(1)(b) of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), nor was the evidence
tendered by the prosecutor capable of being evidence improperly obtained for the
purposes of par (a)
or evidence obtained in consequence of an impropriety for
the purposes of par (b) of s 138(1) of that Act, and
(b) the common law
defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact was not available to the
Defendant.
(3) Grant a certificate under the Suitors' Fund Act 1951 (NSW) to
the Defendant
JUDGMENT:
IN THE SUPREME COURT
OF
NEW SOUTH WALES
COURT OF APPEAL
CA 40505/05
LC 5979-05-86
BASTEN JA
BARR J
HALL J
14 December 2005
DR DENISE ROBINSON v QUN ZHANG
Judgment
1 BASTEN JA: On 31 August 2004 an officer of the Department of
Health arranged for two girls, aged 15 and 16 years respectively, to enter a
shop under the control of Ms Qun Zhang (“the Defendant”) at
Blackwall Road, Woy Woy, in order to seek to purchase a packet
of cigarettes.
The purchase was effected by the younger girl, as a result of which the
Defendant was charged with an offence under
s 59 of the Public Health Act
1991 (NSW).
2 That section makes it an offence to sell a tobacco product to a person
who is under the age of 18 years. The only defence provided
by the Act requires
that the person is in fact over the age of 14 years at the time of the sale and
“there was produced to
the defendant documentary evidence that might
reasonably be accepted as applying to the person to whom the tobacco product ...
was
sold and as proving that the person was at least 18 years of age”: s
59(2)(b).
3 At the commencement of the hearing of the charge in the Local Court,
the solicitor for the Defendant stated to the magistrate:
“Can I say there is no dispute about the facts per se, that is, it is admitted that the defendant sold cigarettes to a person who was in fact under the age of 18 years of age on the day in question.”
It also appears to have been conceded that no steps were taken which could engage the statutory defence in s 59(2).
4 The solicitor then stated that the plea of not guilty was in effect
based on the following defences:
(a) a defence of honest and reasonable mistake as to fact, and
(b) a supposed defence of entrapment.
5 According to a proposed notice of contention filed in this Court the
Defendant did not pursue the first defence before the magistrate,
considering
herself precluded from that course by the judgment of this Court in Hickling
v Laneyrie (1991) 21 NSWLR 730, a case dealing with a similar offence under
the Liquor Act 1982 (NSW).
6 At the outset of the hearing in the Local Court, the magistrate asked,
quite reasonably, whether it was necessary to hear from any
witnesses. The
solicitor for the Defendant replied that it would be if the Court found
“that the defence of honest and reasonable
belief is available”.
Even were it not, he said that “the entrapment issue” would become a
live one and that all
witnesses would need to be cross-examined “about the
arrangements for the operation”.
7 After some discussion, the magistrate declined to make a ruling that
any defence was unavailable and the witnesses were called.
In so far as their
evidence was relevant to a defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact, the
Defendant was entitled to question
the witnesses in some detail as to their
appearance on the day in question, as compared with their appearance in Court
and, if thought
appropriate, to challenge the veracity of their responses. If
no relevant defence were available, some limited evidence of that
kind might
have been relevant to sentence, but much of the cross-examination which actually
occurred would probably have been rejected
as offensive and unnecessary.
8 In relation to the second defence, the solicitor appearing for the
prosecutor stated at the beginning of the hearing:
“Your Honour, I can indicate that it is accepted that the Department of Health arranged for the two minors to go into the store and to ask for the cigarettes. They were told not – they were told that if they were asked how old they were to answer truthfully at all times if they were asked to provide ID, to say that they had no ID.”
The solicitor for the Defendant accepted those statements. At the end of the Crown case, there was an adjournment for a little over two months, following which the parties made submissions. On the second day, being 5 May 2005, the solicitor for the Defendant accepted that the decision in Hickling “delivers the death knell to the honest and reasonable belief defence” and did not press that defence. Further, what had been identified as the “entrapment issue” was put forward as a proposal to exclude evidence under s 138 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW). In support of that submission, he relied upon the decision of Berman DCJ in Department of Health v Woolworths, handed down on 8 April 2005.
9 After a short adjournment, the magistrate returned to the Bench and
noted there had been some further discussion with both legal
representatives in
chambers and that the Defendant was not to be called. The magistrate expressed
the view that he would like to
hear from the Defendant on an issue identified as
“her level of understanding”. From the evidence given, he appears
to have been referring to her belief as to the age of the girl to whom the
cigarettes were sold.
10 On 12 May 2005 the magistrate delivered a judgment reviewing much of
the evidence. In the course of his remarks, he recounted
the evidence,
commented at one stage on the “selective” nature of the answers
given by one of the girls and formed his
own view as to how old they appeared to
be. The relevance of these findings and accompanying remarks was not at any
stage identified.
The conclusion reached was an express adoption of the view
taken by Berman DCJ of the relevant principles to be derived from Ridgeway v
The Queen (1994) 184 CLR 19, an adoption of his Honour’s conclusions
with respect to what appears to have been the only relevant fact, namely that
the
selection of the Defendant for “compliance testing” was random
and not based upon a reasonable suspicion, and determined
that he would exclude
the evidence. There was no express attempt to identify the nature of the
impropriety or to conduct any independent
assessment of the discretionary
factors considered by Berman DCJ.
11 It will be necessary to say something shortly about two aspects of
this case, namely the procedure by which the matter reached
this Court and the
notice of contention by which the Defendant seeks to re-open the question of
honest and reasonable mistake of
fact. Before doing that it is convenient to
note that the hearing of this appeal was undertaken on the same day as the
hearing of
a case stated under s 5B of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912
(NSW), the same bench comprising the Court in each case. The prosecutors in
each matter were represented by the Crown Advocate who,
in this matter, was
largely content on the legal issue to adopt the submissions made in the case
stated involving Woolworths Ltd.
12 The one additional point raised by the Defendant in this matter, not
identified in Woolworths Ltd, concerned the appearance of the purchaser
of the cigarettes. Although only 15 years of age, the magistrate thought she
had the
appearance of an older person and “could have even been in her
early 20s”. The Defendant further asserted in submissions
that “it
can be inferred from his judgment that he considered that the appellant’s
officers must have appreciated that
[the purchaser] could have easily appeared
to others, such as the respondent, to be 18 years or older”. The adoption
by the
magistrate of the reasoning of Berman DCJ in Woolworths Ltd,
without significant addition, is not consistent with that inference. However,
that consideration is, in my view, not relevant to
the present question. Some
young people do look older than their actual age and, accordingly, that is a
factor which vendors must
take in to account in determining whether it is lawful
to sell tobacco products to them. In Ovens v Laneyrie (1987) 11 NSWLR
207, Campbell J held that it was open for a court to conclude that a defendant
had reasonable grounds for believing that a customer was
over 18 years of age,
purely on the basis of appearance. That decision, in relation to the supply of
liquor, appears to have been
trigger for the 1989 amendment of the Liquor
Act which limited the defence available under that Act to one in
substantially the same terms as that contained in s 59(2) of the Public
Health Act: see generally, Hickling v Laneyrie (1991) 21 NSWLR 730
at 732G-733C (Kirby P) and 741G-742B (Clarke and Handley JJA). On the basis of
the principles adopted in Woolworths Ltd, it must follow that the
particular aspect of the girl’s appearance does not affect the impugned
conduct of the law enforcement
officers. The fact that a young person, who was
in fact 15 years of age, looked over 18 years of age, does not take the case out
of the category of those involving the expectable conduct of ordinary
purchasers, and is not capable of constituting impropriety
for the purposes of s
138 of the Evidence Act. There was no element of deliberate trickery,
for example by the use of a young person of unnaturally aged appearance. Had
the
case risen to that level, the pursuit of the prosecution might have seemed
inappropriate for reasons unrelated to the involvement
of a law enforcement
officer. This was not such a case.
13 The Court has taken into account the submissions made on behalf of
both defendants in reaching its judgment in the Woolworths matter.
Consistently with its reasoning in that matter, the Court accepts the arguments
put on behalf of the prosecutor in relation
to the operation of s 138 of the
Evidence Act and concludes that, as a matter of law, it was not open to
the magistrate to reach the conclusion he did, for the same reasons that
it was
not open to Berman DCJ to conclude that there was relevant impropriety in the
obtaining of evidence by a similar form of random
compliance testing which
operated in that case as in this. Accordingly it must follow that the
magistrate erred in his conclusion
with respect to the admissibility of the
evidence.
Procedural matters
14 This proceeding was brought pursuant to s 56
of the Crimes (Local Courts Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW). That
section provides:
56(1) The prosecutor may appeal to the Supreme Court against:
...
(b) an order made by a Local Court that stays any summary proceedings for the prosecution of an offence, or
(c) an order made by a Local Court dismissing a matter the subject of any summary proceedings, or
...
(e) an order for costs made by a Local Court against the prosecutor in any summary proceedings,
other than an order or sentence with respect to an environmental offence, but only on a ground that involves a question of law alone.
Pursuant to s 3(1), the term “Local Court” includes, at par (d), any court that is constituted by a magistrate and that exercises criminal jurisdiction. Section 3(1) also defines “prosecutor” in the following terms:
“prosecutor”, in relation to proceedings from which an appeal or application for leave to appeal is made, means the person responsible for the conduct of the prosecution in those proceedings.
15 The proceedings in the Local
Court were commenced by the issue of a “court attendance notice”
signed by a public officer,
namely the present Plaintiff. That person should be
identified as the “prosecutor” and is the correct party to the
appeal.
16 The next question is whether the prosecutor requires leave to proceed
in this Court. Section 56, set out above, deals with appeals
as of right.
Section 57 deals with appeals which require leave and provides, relevantly, as
follows:
57.(1) The prosecutor may appeal to the Supreme Court against:
...
(c) an interlocutory order that has been made by a local court in relation to a person in summary proceedings,
but only on a ground that involves a question of law alone, and only by leave of the Supreme Court.
17 On 12 May
2005, the magistrate did two things. First, he said that he would
“exclude the evidence”. What evidence
he excluded is unclear, but
it may be inferred that he excluded the whole of the prosecution case. There
being no suggestion that
there was any other evidence he stated “I
formally dismiss the matter”. Both counsel addressed on costs, and it
seems
likely that some order was made, but it is not identified in the material
before this Court. For the purposes of ss 56 and 57, it
is apparent that an
order dismissing a matter is an order against which an appeal lies as of right,
and is therefore not an interlocutory
order requiring leave. The fact that the
dismissal is based on a decision to reject evidence does not vary that
conclusion. In
any event, a decision to reject the whole of the prosecution
case has been held not to be “an interlocutory judgment or order”
for the purposes of s 5F(2) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912: see R v
Wang Kim Cheng [1999] NSWCCA 373; (1999) 48 NSWLR 616.
18 In my view the prosecutor does not require leave, but if she did, she
should have it in the circumstances of the case: the application
is not, in any
event, opposed.
19 The next procedural step is to note that the summons was returnable in
the common law division, but was, at the prosecutor’s
request, referred to
this Court with the intention that it be heard by the same Bench that considered
the judgment in the Woolworths matter. That course has been taken. For
the reasons given in the Woolworths matter, the prosecutor is entitled to
an order setting aside the order of the Local Court dismissing the proceedings.
The reason
for making that order is that he was in error in rejecting the
evidence tendered by the prosecutor.
20 In Woolworths Ltd, the Court of Criminal Appeal noted
that there was some awkwardness in seeking to invoke the evidentiary principles
set out in s 138 of the Evidence Act, rather than seeking a stay of the
proceedings on the basis of prosecutorial impropriety, a course adopted in R
v Sloane (1990) 49 A Crim R 270 and approved in R v Hsing (1992) 25
NSWLR 685 at 696F – see Robinson v Woolworths Ltd [2005] NSWCCA 426
at [41]. The point is relevant in this case because, subject to the possible
defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact, it is clear
from the admission
referred to at [3] above that there is no issue in dispute between the
parties.
21 The Defendant seeks to raise by way of contention the proposition that
the Defendant was entitled to run a defence based on honest
and reasonable
mistake of fact. Technically, this is not a contention, because it would have
required a finding of fact, where none
was made in the Local Court. The appeal
to this Court is limited to questions of law only and it would not be open to
this Court
to make a finding of fact. All that the Court could do, would be, if
the defence were not found to be unavailable, to remit the
matter to the Local
Court for it to continue the hearing on the basis that, absent the satisfaction
of such a defence, the Defendant
should be convicted.
22 Despite the fact that this was not strictly a contention point, the
parties agreed that it would be appropriate for this Court
to address the issue,
on the basis that the existence or not of the defence would affect whether, and
if so what, other order, the
Court might make assuming that it was to set aside
the order made by the magistrate. Accordingly, it is appropriate to consider
the availability of the defence. In the Local Court, the prosecutor asserted,
and the Defendant accepted, that the availability
of a defence of honest and
reasonable mistake of fact was resolved by the decision of this Court in
Hickling v Laneyrie (1991) 21 NSWLR 730. Although that case dealt with
the Liquor Act 1982, s 114, it was not suggested that the provision in
question had any materially different operation to s 59 of the Public Health
Act. Nor was that proposition pursued in this Court. Accordingly, the
Defendant undertook the burden of seeking to reopen the decision
in
Hickling.
23 Before turning to the question of reopening it is necessary to address
a specific argument based on Hickling which sought to adopt, rather than
challenge, one aspect of the reasoning of Kirby P, in 21 NSWLR at 740B. Before
referring to his
Honour’s comment, it is necessary to note the context in
which it was uttered. At p 738B, his Honour stated his conclusion
that the
relevant section of the Liquor Act “excludes the operation of the
common law ground of exculpation based upon reasonable and honest belief of the
accused”.
He went on to give five reasons for adopting that view. The
last commenced with the concession that “at the borderline, the
operation
of the present section may cause some unfairness to vendors and
licensees”, but noted that the answers given in relation
to that concern
“are convincing”: p 739E-F. In the course of explaining that
conclusion, his Honour noted, in the passage
relied upon by the defendant:
“However, on the face on the present provision as to age and in the light of the history which preceded it, it seems clear that Parliament was endeavouring to instil a high degree of care in those engaged in the sale of liquor to minors. It did so by effectively imposing upon them, in the event of the slightest cause for doubt, the obligation to secure reasonable documentary proof of age.”
This passage, it was argued, allowed the conclusion that no offence was committed where there was not the slightest doubt in the vendor’s mind as to the age of the purchaser.
24 There are a number of reasons why that contention cannot be accepted,
but three will suffice. First, the context demonstrates
that his Honour was not
engaged in an exercise of statutory construction in this passage, but was
identifying policy considerations
which led the Parliament to adopt a particular
approach. Secondly, the meaning sought to be extracted from this passage by the
Defendant
would be inconsistent with the conclusion his Honour was addressing,
namely that the common law defence did not apply. Thirdly,
even if some
qualification of the kind sought to be discerned by the Defendant were open, no
such qualification is to be found in
the judgment of Clarke JA and Handley JA,
leaving the President in a minority. I repeat, however, that it is simply not
possible
to read the President’s judgment in the way proposed.
Reconsidering a prior authority
25 It is well-established that, for
this Court to review its own prior decision, leave is required: see Proctor
v Jetway Aviation Pty Ltd [1984] 1 NSWLR 166 at 171F (Moffit P).
26 The circumstances in which the High Court will review and depart from
its own previous decisions were considered in John v Federal Commissioner of
Taxation [1989] HCA 5; (1988-89) 166 CLR 417 at 438-440. The joint judgment referred to
four matters which might justify departure. Their Honours stated at 438:
“The first was that the earlier decisions did not rest upon a principle carefully worked out in significant succession of cases. The second was a difference between the reasons of the justices constituting the majority in one of the earlier decisions. The third was that the earlier decisions had achieved no useful result but on the contrary had led to considerable inconvenience. The fourth was that the earlier decisions had not been independently acted on in a manner which militated against reconsideration... .”
27 In truth, no persuasive case was
made by the defendant to reconsider Hickling. However, considering the
matters identified by the High Court in John, it may be said that
Hickling depended upon a careful consideration of the context, statutory
history and policy considerations underlying the statute. The first
factor
would not be satisfied.
28 The decision involved two judgments, one of the President and one
joint judgment of Clarke and Handley JJA. There is no material
difference in
the reasons of the justices. The second consideration is therefore not
satisfied.
29 There is no evidence to suggest that the judgment in Hickling
has led to any inconvenience or disquiet. The lack of further litigation
involving the principle rather suggests that it has been
accepted and applied
without difficulty or inconvenience. Accordingly, it has not been shown that
the third consideration is engaged.
30 The principles espoused in John and other High Court
authorities were applied in this Court by Gleeson CJ in Clutha Developments
Pty Ltd v Barry (1989) 18 NSWLR 86 at 99-101, in a judgment with which
Samuels and Priestley JJA and Hope AJA agreed. In addition to those matters,
his Honour noted
at 100F-G:
“However, making due allowance for the need for retaining flexibility and avoiding intransigence, it is generally accepted that before it is appropriate for an appellate court to overrule one of its own earlier decision[s] it must entertain a strong conviction as to incorrectness of the earlier decision. Where the point concerns the meaning of unclear statutory language, and the view expressed in the earlier decisions is well and truly open, a mere preference for a different view will not suffice.”
31 Finally, so far as one may
assess the matter, it would appear that the formula adopted in the Liquor
Act more than 20 years ago has been accepted by the Parliament as an
appropriate formula to adopt to give effect to the principle accepted
in
Hickling, which would have been known and understood when s 59 was
inserted in the Public Health Act in 1996. In short, no reason has been
given to revisit Hickling, but rather there are reasons for thinking that
if the principle is to be disturbed, it is not a matter for this Court. I would
add that my tentative view, the matter not having been fully agitated before the
Court, is that Hickling was correctly decided and that the reasoning is
directly applicable to s 59, with the result that a general law defence of a
kind identified in Proudman v Dayman [1941] HCA 28; (1941) 67 CLR 536, is not available
under s 59 of the Public Health Act.
32 If there be doubt attending the intention of the 1996 amendments, that
doubt is removed by the Second Reading Speech to the Public Health Amendment
(Tobacco) Bill: Hansard, Legislative Assembly, 24 April 1996. Dr
Refshauge, the Deputy Premier and Minister for Health, after noting the effect
of s 59 of the Public Health Act stated:
“The existing section also provides a defence to prosecution if sellers can established, to the satisfaction of the court, that they believed on reasonable grounds that the purchaser was at least 18 years of age. In recent years, the New South Wales Department of Health has implemented a number of strategies to improve compliance with the existing provisions of the Act to combat the illegal sale of tobacco to young people. ...
These strategies have been backed by an increase in the number of prosecutions. ... However, the Government recognises that still more can be done to improve compliance with the legislation and to assist tobacco retailers to comply with the law. ...
... The amendment to s 59 of the Public Health Act proposed in the bill will remove the current wide and uncertain defence to prosecution that I have already outlined and replace it with a clear, objective requirement which can be implemented by all tobacco retailers. To establish the defence, the court must be satisfied that purchasers of tobacco were over the age of 14 and that they provided documentary evidence to the retailer showing they were at least 18 years of age. ...
... Honourable members should note that, in common with the provisions of the Liquor Act 1982, when the person is under the age of 14 years there is no defence to prosecution.”
The history of amendment makes clear the intention to remove the defence (then in statutory form) of a belief on reasonable grounds that the purchaser was 18 years of age with the current defence. Further, the current defence was said to involve greater certainty. Both of these factors are inconsistent with the continued, or renewed, availability of a common law defence. Further, the express reference to the Liquor Act 1982 demonstrates an understanding of the relevance of the regime which existed under that law.
Conclusions
33 It follows from the reasoning in Woolworths
Ltd and for the further reasons set out above that the magistrate erred and
his decision should be set aside. The evidence tendered
by the prosecutor
should not have been excluded and, in accordance with the facts accepted by the
Defendant, and in the absence of
any relevant defence, the matter should be
remitted to the Local Court for the purpose of determining the matter in
accordance with
this conclusion.
34 The prosecutor indicated after the conclusion of the hearing that it
did not seek costs against the Defendant in this Court. Accordingly,
there
should be no order in relation to the costs of this appeal.
35 If an order for costs were made in the Local Court, it also should be
set aside so that the magistrate who hears and determines
the outstanding issues
may make such order as seems fit in the circumstances.
36 Somewhat belatedly, after the hearing, the Defendant made an
application for a Suitors’ Fund certificate, in the event that
the
prosecutor’s appeal succeeded.
37 There is no reason to doubt that these proceedings constitute an
appeal against a decision of a court, to the Supreme Court, on
a question of law
or fact, for the purposes of s 6(1) of the Suitors’ Fund Act. As
noted at [14] above, the proceedings were brought pursuant to s 56 of the
Crimes (Local Courts Appeal and Review) Act. The only question which
might arise in these circumstances is whether the Suitors’ Fund Act
applies in relation to appeals from convictions for summary offences, or is
limited to civil proceedings. In my view, there is no
reason to doubt that it
is so available. Although s 6 is silent in relation to this question, other
provisions, including s 6A,
provide expressly that it may apply in relation to
civil or criminal proceedings. Further, certificates have been granted in
relation
to cases stated under s 5B of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912
(NSW). In Ex parte Neville; Re Suitors’ Fund Act [1964-5] NSWLR
1526, and (1966) 85 WN (Pt 1) (NSW) 372, Maguire J held that the requirements of
the section would be satisfied, if it could be said that
the proceedings
constituted an appeal “against the decision” of the Court below.
That issue does not arise in the present
case. Accordingly the power is
available to grant such a certificate.
38 Where the power is available, a certificate is usually granted as a
matter of course, in the absence of particular considerations
which would
warrant withholding a certificate in the exercise of the Court’s
discretion. There are no such circumstances in
this case and the grant would
satisfy the purposes of the legislation, as identified by Kirby P and Samuels JA
in Mir Bros Developments Pty Ltd v Atlantic Constructions Pty Ltd (1985)
1 NSWLR 491 at 494. The only unusual feature of this case is that the
successful prosecutor does not seek an order for costs against the Defendant.
Accordingly a certificate is not required to indemnify her in relation to an
adverse costs order. Nevertheless, s 6(2)(b) envisages
that part at least of
the Defendant’s own costs may be recovered from the Fund, including in
circumstances where no amount
is payable to another party. Accordingly the
certificate should be granted.
39 I would proposed the following orders:
(1) Set aside the order of the Local Court made on 12 May 2005 dismissing the proceedings brought against the Defendant alleging an offence under s 59 of the Public Health Act 1991 (NSW);
(2) Remit the matter to the Local Court to be determined in accordance with the conclusions of this Court that,
(a) the evidence relied on by the Defendant was not capable of establishing an impropriety for the purpose of s 138(1)(b) of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), nor was the evidence tendered by the prosecutor capable of being evidence improperly obtained for the purposes of par (a) or evidence obtained in consequence of an impropriety for the purposes of par (b) of s 138(1) of that Act, and
(b) the common law defence of honest and reasonable mistake of fact was not available to the Defendant.
(3) Grant a certificate under the Suitors’ Fund Act 1951 (NSW) to the Defendant.
40 BARR J: I agree with
Basten JA.
41 HALL J: I agree with Basten JA.
**********
LAST UPDATED: 30/01/2009
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