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CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 1986 - SCHEDULE 3

SCHEDULE 3 – Provisions relating to offences

(Section 316)

Part 1 - Contempt

1 Institution of contempt proceedings

(1) Proceedings for contempt of court may be instituted in the Supreme Court in the name of the "State of New South Wales" by--
(a) the Attorney General, or
(b) the Solicitor General or Crown Advocate acting under a delegation from the Attorney General.
(2) Nothing in subclause (1) prevents contempt of court being dealt with in any other manner, and in particular nothing in that subclause prevents proceedings for contempt of court from being instituted in any other manner.

Part 2 - Treason and treason-related offences

2 Definitions

In this Part--

"expressed by spoken word" , in relation to treasonable sentiments, means expressed, uttered or declared by open and advised speaking, and in no other manner.

"treason-related offence" means an offence arising under section 12 of the Crimes Act 1900 .

"treason" means any of the offences whose existence is saved by operation of section 11 of the Crimes Act 1900 .

"treasonable sentiments" means the compassings, imaginations, inventions, devices or intentions giving rise to a treason-related offence.

3 Time within which prosecution to be commenced and warrant issued for treason-related offence

(1) No person is to be prosecuted for treasonable sentiments expressed by spoken word unless--
(a) information of those sentiments, and of the words by which they were so expressed, was given on oath to a Magistrate or an authorised officer within 6 days after the words were spoken, and
(b) a warrant for the arrest of the person was issued within 10 days after the information was given.
(2) No person may be convicted in respect of treasonable sentiments expressed by spoken word unless--
(a) the person confesses to those sentiments in open court, or
(b) the words by which those sentiments were so expressed are proved by at least 2 witnesses.

4 More than one act may be charged in indictment for treason-related offence

In any indictment for a treason-related offence, any number of matters, acts or deeds by which treasonable sentiments have been expressed, uttered, or declared may be charged against the accused person.

5 Indictment for treason-related offence valid though facts may amount to treason

(1) An indictment for a treason-related offence is not bad, insufficient, void, erroneous or defective merely because the facts or matters alleged in the indictment amount in law to treason.
(2) A person is not entitled to be acquitted of a treason-related offence merely because the facts or matters proved on the person's trial amount in law to treason, but no person tried for a treason-related offence may subsequently be prosecuted on the same facts for treason.

6 Procedure for treason to be as for murder

In all cases of treason, the person charged is to be arraigned and tried in the same manner, and according to the same course and order of trial, as if the person stood charged with murder.

Part 3 - Stealing offences

7 Stealing and receiving in one indictment

(1) In an indictment containing a charge of stealing property, a further charge may be added against the same person for unlawfully receiving the property, or any part of the property, knowing it to have been stolen.
(2) The prosecutor is not to be put to election as to those charges.

8 Separate receivers may be charged in one indictment

If property has been stolen, taken, embezzled, obtained, fraudulently applied or disposed of in such a manner as to amount to a serious indictable offence--

(a) any number of receivers at different times of the property, and
(b) any number of receivers of different parts of the property,
may be charged with substantive serious indictable offences in the same indictment, and be tried together, even if the principal offender is not included in the indictment, not in custody or not amenable to justice.

9 Allegations in indictment as to money or securities stolen

(1) In an indictment--
(a) for stealing, taking, receiving, or embezzling any money or valuable security, or
(b) for misappropriating, or fraudulently applying or disposing of, any money or valuable security, or
(c) for obtaining any money or valuable security by any threat or false pretence, or partly by a false pretence and partly by a wilfully false promise,
it is sufficient to describe the property as a "certain amount of money" or a "certain valuable security", without specifying any particular kind of money or security.
(2) Such a description may be sustained by proof of the stealing, taking, receiving, embezzling, appropriating, disposal or obtaining of any money or valuable security--
(a) even if some part of its value was agreed to be, or was in fact, returned, and
(b) even if, as regards money, the particular kind of money is not proved or provable.

10 Indictment for stealing by tenants

An indictment against a person for stealing property let to be used by the person as a tenant or lodger in relation to premises is sufficient--

(a) in the case of a chattel, if it is in the common form for larceny, and
(b) in the case of a fixture, if it is in the same form as if the person were not a tenant or lodger,
and in either case the property may be described as being owned by the owner of the premises or by the person letting the premises.

11 Indictment for stealing deeds

(1) In an indictment for stealing, embezzling, destroying, cancelling, obliterating or concealing any document of title to land, or any part of land, it is sufficient--
(a) to allege that the document contains evidence of the title to the land, and
(b) to mention the person, or one of the persons, having an interest in the land or any part of the land.
(2) In this section--

"document of title to land" includes any deed, map, paper or parchment (whether written or printed, or partly written and partly printed) that is or contains evidence of the title, or part of the title, to any real estate or any interest in or out of real estate.

12 Indictment for larceny by public servant, property to be described as property of the State

In an indictment for larceny or embezzlement as a public servant, the property may be described as the property of the State, from which it is taken to have been stolen.

Part 4 - Other offences

13 General averment of intent to defraud or injure

(1) It is sufficient to allege that the accused person did an act with intent to defraud or injure without alleging an intent to defraud or injure any particular person.
(2) In an indictment for doing an act fraudulently, or for a fraudulent purpose, it is not necessary to state the fraudulent intent or purpose.

14 Sexual touching

In an indictment for an offence of sexual touching, it is sufficient to state that the accused person (at a specified time and place) committed an offence of sexual touching in relation to the person alleged to have been the victim of the offence, without stating the mode of touching.

15 Partners and partnership property

(1) In an indictment--
(a) it is sufficient to describe partners, joint tenants, parceners or tenants in common by naming one of them and referring to the others as "another" or "others", as the case requires, and
(b) it is sufficient to state the ownership of property belonging to partners, joint tenants, parceners or tenants in common by naming one of them and alleging the property to belong to the person so named and "another" or "others", as the case requires.
(2) This section extends to all joint stock companies, executors, administrators and trustees.

16 Where not necessary to allege particular ownership

In any indictment in respect of any of the following matters--

(a) stealing, destroying or injuring any testamentary instrument, any document issued by a court or anything fixed or growing in any place set aside for public use,
(b) any offence committed in or in relation to a place of divine worship,
(c) any offence committed in relation to property in any public library or other public building,
(d) anything mentioned in section 202 or 210 of the Crimes Act 1900 ,
it is not necessary to allege that the thing in respect of which the offence was committed is the property of any person.

17 On trial for perjury: presumption of authority to administer oath

On a trial for perjury, the person before whom the perjury is alleged to have been committed is presumed to have had authority to administer the oath, or take the declaration, or affirmation, unless the contrary is shown.

18 Description in indictment for engraving

In an indictment--

(a) for engraving or making the whole or any part of any instrument or thing, or
(b) for using or having possession of any plate or material on which the whole or any part of any instrument or thing is engraved or made, or
(c) for having possession of paper on which the whole or any part of any instrument or thing is made or printed,
it is sufficient to describe any such instrument or thing by any name or designation by which it is usually known, without setting out a copy of it or any part of it.

19 Indictment for sale of counterfeit coin

In an indictment with respect to the unlawful buying, selling, paying, putting off or receiving of counterfeit coin, it is not necessary to allege at what rate, or for what price, the coin was bought or sold or offered to be bought, sold, paid, put off or received.

20 Indictment for perjury

(1) In an indictment for perjury, it is sufficient--
(a) to allege that, on a certain day, at a certain place and before a named person, the accused person falsely swore, declared or affirmed the matter charged as false--
(i) stating only the substance of the matter, and
(ii) averring that the matter was falsely sworn, declared or affirmed on an occasion when the truth of the matter was material, and
(b) to state generally that the matter charged as false was false in fact without negativing each or any aspect of the matter.
(2) Consequently, it is not necessary--
(a) to specify the occasion on which the matter charged as false was falsely sworn, declared or affirmed, or
(b) to show how the matter charged as false was material, or
(c) to specify the proceedings in or in relation to which the matter charged as false was falsely sworn, declared or affirmed, or
(d) to specify the judicial or official character of the person administering the oath, or taking the declaration or affirmation, charged as false.

21 Indictment for conspiracy

(1) This clause applies to an indictment for conspiracy.
(2) It is not necessary to state any overt act of conspiracy.
(3) Each accused person, whether 2 or more are included in the same indictment or not--
(a) may be charged separately, in any count--
(i) as having conspired with other persons, of whom it is sufficient to name one only, or
(ii) as having conspired with one other named person only, and
(b) may be convicted on any such count on proof of having unlawfully conspired, for the purpose alleged in the indictment, with any one of the named persons.
(4) No more than 3 counts against the same accused person may be inserted in one indictment.
(5) In any case before a plea is entered, the court may order such particulars to be given as the court considers appropriate.
(6) If substantially different conspiracies are charged in the same indictment, the prosecutor may be put to election as to the one on which to proceed.

22 Procedures regarding obscene or blasphemous libel

(1) In any indictment against the publisher of an obscene or blasphemous libel, it is not necessary to set out the obscene or blasphemous passages.
(2) It is sufficient to tender the book, newspaper or other document containing the alleged libel with the indictment, together with particulars showing precisely, by reference to pages, columns and lines, in what part of the book, newspaper or other document the alleged libel is to be found.
(3) The particulars referred to in subclause (2) are taken to form part of the record of the proceedings.
(4) All proceedings may be taken as though the passages complained of had been set out in the indictment.



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