Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda

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INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION MEASURES BILL 2017

                       2016-2017-2018




THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA




              HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES




INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION MEASURES BILL 2017




   ADDENDUM TO THE EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM




                (Circulated by authority of the
     Attorney-General, the Honourable Christian Porter MP)
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION MEASURES BILL 2017

This addendum responds to concerns raised by the Senate Standing Committee for the
Scrutiny of Bills in Scrutiny Digest 13 of 2017.


GENERAL OUTLINE

After paragraph 34, insert:

Part 3 of Schedule 2 of the Bill applies only if the amending Director of Public Prosecutions
Amendment (Norfolk Island) Regulations were to be challenged and found to be invalid.
Therefore, the retrospective application of Part 3 would only operate to validate anything
done under the amending Regulations.

It is considered appropriate to include a provision to this effect as a precaution to avoid any
detrimental impact should the amending Regulations be found to be invalid. It is important to
ensure the validity of any prosecutions conducted on Norfolk Island in reliance on the
amending Regulations. To do otherwise would undermine the effective enforcement of the
criminal law during this period. While the risk of invalidity is small, the consequence would
be significant for all concerned, not least of all the victims and defendants involved in any
prosecutions.

It is important to note that the retrospective application of Part 3 of Schedule 2 of the Bill
would not have any detrimental effect on an individual, or change the rights or liabilities of
any person subject to prosecution during the period in which the amending Regulations were
purportedly in force. The Bill does not in any way change the circumstances under which a
person may be found to have committed a criminal act. The provision merely ensures the
availability of an effective mechanism for prosecuting such acts.




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