New South Wales Consolidated Acts

MENTAL HEALTH (FORENSIC PROVISIONS) ACT 1990 - SECT 22

22 Verdicts at special hearing

(1) The verdicts available to the jury or the Court at a special hearing include the following:

(a) not guilty of the offence charged,

(b) not guilty on the ground of mental illness,

(c) that on the limited evidence available, the accused person committed the offence charged,

(d) that on the limited evidence available, the accused person committed an offence available as an alternative to the offence charged.

(2) A verdict in accordance with subsection (1) (b) is to be taken to be equivalent for all purposes to a special verdict that an accused person is not guilty by reason of mental illness under section 38.

(3) A verdict in accordance with subsection (1) (c) or (d):

(a) constitutes a qualified finding of guilt and does not constitute a basis in law for any conviction for the offence to which the finding relates, and

(b) subject to section 28, constitutes a bar to further prosecution in respect of the same circumstances, and

(c) is subject to appeal in the same manner as a verdict in an ordinary trial of criminal proceedings, and

(d) is to be taken to be a conviction for the purpose of enabling a victim of the offence in respect of which the verdict is given to make a claim for compensation.