Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) This
section —
(a) is
in addition to section 5 of the Criminal Code Act 1913 ; and
(b) does
not affect any right to recover damages from the owner or driver of a motor
vehicle in respect of the death of or bodily injury to a person directly
caused by, or by the driving of, the motor vehicle,
but otherwise applies
despite any other written law.
(2) This section
applies to and in respect of anything done after the commencement of the Acts
Amendment (Police Immunity) Act 1999 1 .
(3) An action in tort
does not lie against a member of the Police Force for anything that the member
has done, without corruption or malice, while performing or purporting to
perform the functions of a member of the Police Force, whether or not under a
written or other law.
(4) An action in tort
does not lie against a person for anything that the person has done, without
corruption or malice, in assisting a member of the Police Force who is
performing or purporting to perform the functions of a
member of the Police Force, whether or not under a written or other law.
(5) The Crown is
liable for a tort that results from —
(a)
anything done by a member of the Police Force, without corruption or malice,
while performing or purporting to perform the functions of a member of
the Police Force, whether or not under a written or other law;
(b)
anything done by a person, without corruption or malice, in assisting a
member of the Police Force who is performing or purporting to perform the
functions of a member of the Police Force, whether or not under a written or
other law.
(6) The Crown’s
liability under subsection (5) does not extend to exemplary or punitive
damages.
(7) If a person to
whom subsection (3) or (4) applies does not cooperate fully with the
Crown in the defence of an action in tort against the Crown in respect of
anything done by the person, the Crown may recover from the person the
Crown’s costs of defending the action and any damages and costs awarded
against the Crown in the action.
(8) For the purposes
of subsection (7), a person does not cooperate fully with the Crown if
the person refuses —
(a) to
answer any question, including a question the answer to which is or may be
self-incriminating; or
(b) to
produce any object or recorded information in the person’s possession or
control,
that is relevant to
the defence of the action.
(9) If a person, in
cooperating with the Crown in the defence of an action referred to in
subsection (8), gives an answer that is or may be self-incriminating, the
answer is not admissible in any criminal or disciplinary proceedings against
the person except proceedings for a criminal or disciplinary offence arising
from the giving of a false answer.
[Section 137 inserted by No. 42 of 1999
s. 5.]