South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts72—Liability for perjury in civil actions
(1) Subject to this
section, a person who gives perjured evidence in civil proceedings is liable
for damage suffered by any other person in consequence of the perjury.
(2) In proceedings
under this section, the plaintiff must establish—
(a) that
the defendant—
(i)
has been convicted of perjury; or
(ii)
has been found guilty of contempt of court on the ground
of having committed perjury; or
(iii)
has been committed for trial on a charge of perjury but
by reason of the fact that no indictment has been preferred, or a nolle
prosequi has been entered, has not been tried on that charge; and
(b) that
the perjured evidence was material to the outcome of the proceedings in which
it was given.
(3) Where the
defendant has not been convicted of perjury, or been found guilty of contempt
of court on the ground of having committed perjury, the evidence upon which a
liability is alleged to arise under this section must be corroborated in a
material particular.
(4) It is no defence
to an action under this section that the perjured evidence was accepted as
true by the court before which it was given.
(5) In proceedings
under this section, an apparently genuine document that appears to be a
transcript of evidence given in the proceedings in which the perjured evidence
is alleged to have been given shall be accepted as evidence—
(a) of
the evidence given in those proceedings; and
(b)
where evidence appears from the transcript to have been given by a particular
person—that it was in fact given by that person.