Commonwealth Numbered Acts

Defence Legislation Amendment Act 1984 No. 164 of 1984 - SECT 64

64. After section 145 of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:
Notice of alibi

"145A. (1) Where a convening authority-

   (a)  convenes a court martial to try a charge; or

   (b)  refers a charge to a Defence Force magistrate for trial, the convening
        authority shall-

   (c)  inform the accused person of the requirements of sub-sections (2), (3)
        and (5); and

   (d)  give a copy of this section to the accused person.



"(2) In a trial of a charge by a court martial or Defence Force magistrate,
the accused person shall not, without the leave of the judge advocate of the
court martial or the Defence Force magistrate, as the case requires, adduce
evidence in support of an alibi or assert in any statement made by him
otherwise than on oath or affirmation that he has an alibi unless, before the
end of the period of 14 days commencing on the day of the making of the order
convening the court martial or the referring of the charge to the Defence
Force magistrate, as the case requires, he gives notice of particulars of the
alibi.

"(3) In a trial of a charge by a court martial or Defence Force magistrate,
the accused person shall not, without the leave of the judge advocate of the
court martial or the Defence Force magistrate, as the case requires, call a
person to give evidence in support of an alibi unless-

   (a)  the notice given under sub-section (2) includes the name and address
        of the person or, if the name or address of the person is not known to
        the accused person at the time he gives the notice, all information
        then in his possession that may be of material assistance in
        ascertaining the identity of, or in locating, the person;

   (b)  if the name or address of the person is not included in the notice-the
        judge advocate of the court martial or the Defence Force magistrate,
        as the case may be, is satisfied that, before giving notice, the
        accused person took, and, after giving the notice, the accused person
        continued to take, all reasonable steps to ascertain the name and
        address of the person;

   (c)  if the name or address of the person is not included in the notice,
        but the accused person subsequently ascertains the name or address of
        the person or receives information that may be of material assistance
        in ascertaining the identity of, or in locating, the person-the
        accused person forthwith gives notice of the name, address or other
        information, as the case may be; and

   (d)  if the accused person is notified by or on behalf of the prosecution
        that the person has not been found by the name, or at the address,
        given by the accused person-the accused person forthwith gives notice
        of all information that is then in his possession that may be of
        material assistance in ascertaining the identity of, or in locating,
        the person and, if the accused person subsequently receives any such
        information, the accused person forthwith gives notice of the
        information.



"(4) Evidence to disprove an alibi may, subject to any direction by the judge
advocate of a court martial or a Defence Force magistrate, be adduced before
or after evidence is adduced in respect of the alibi.

"(5) A notice under this section shall be given in writing to the convening
authority concerned.

"(6) In this section, 'evidence in support of an alibi' means evidence tending
to show that by reason only of the presence of the accused person at a
particular place, or in a particular area, at a particular time he was not, or
was unlikely to have been, at the place where the service offence is alleged
to have been committed at the time of the alleged commission of the service
offence.".