Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Defamation Act 2005 - SECT 42

Proof of convictions for offences

42. Proof of convictions for offences



(1) If the question whether or not a person committed an offence is in
question in defamation proceedings-

   (a)  proof that the person was convicted of the offence by an Australian
        court is conclusive evidence that the person committed the offence;
        and





   (b)  proof that the person was convicted of the offence by a court of any
        country (other than an Australian court) or a court martial of any
        country is evidence that the person committed the offence.

(2) For the purposes of this section, the contents of a document that is
evidence of conviction of an offence, and the contents of an information,
complaint, indictment, charge sheet or similar document on which a person is
convicted of an offence, are admissible in evidence to identify the facts on
which the conviction is based.

(3) Subsection (2) does not affect the admissibility of other evidence to
identify the facts on which the conviction is based.

(4) In this section-

conviction for an offence includes a finding of guilt but does not include-

   (a)  a conviction that has been set aside or quashed; or

   (b)  a conviction for an offence for which a person has received a pardon.