Western Australian Numbered Acts

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 2004 (NO. 71 OF 2004) - SECT 177

177 .         Warrants, effect of and procedure on

        (1)         An arrest warrant for a person issued by a court —

            (a)         remains in effect until the person concerned is brought before the court under the warrant or appears voluntarily in the court, whichever happens first; and

            (b)         is itself sufficient authority to any person to whom it is directed to act according to it.

        (2)         A police officer must obey any warrant or other order or direction of a court.

        (3)         A police officer who contravenes subsection (2) is to be dealt with under the Police Act 1892 section 23.

        (4)         If an arrest warrant issued under this Act or another written law requires a person to be brought before a court, the person —

            (a)         must be brought before the court as soon as practicable;

            (b)         may be brought before the court at any place where it is sitting; and

            (c)         despite section 77, must be brought before the court in person or, if that is not practicable, by means of a video link or audio link between the court and the place where the person is in custody.

        (5)         An audio link must not be used under subsection (4) unless a video link is not available and cannot reasonably be made available.

        (6)         A person who is brought to a court under a warrant may be held in custody under the warrant until —

            (a)         the court releases the person or issues another warrant that authorises the person to be held in custody; or

            (b)         the person, in accordance with a grant of bail, or an order made under Schedule 4 clause 2(4), by the court, is released.

        (7)         If a warrant says that a person (the "detainee") must be brought before a court at a time and on a day stated in the warrant and due to exceptional circumstances a person to whom a warrant is directed is unable to do so, the warrant authorises the person to keep the detainee in custody —

            (a)         until the end of that day; or

            (b)         until another remand warrant is issued in respect of the detainee,

                whichever happens first.

        (8)         If an accused is not brought before a court in accordance with a remand warrant, the court, on its own initiative or on the application of the prosecutor and in the absence of the accused, may adjourn the case.