Western Australian Numbered Acts Western Australian Numbered Acts (1) In this Act,
unless the contrary intention appears —
“accused” means a person alleged in a
prosecution notice or indictment to have committed an offence;
“acquit” , in relation to a charge,
has the meaning given by subsection (2)(b);
“approved notice” means a notice
approved by the chief executive officer of the department of the Public
Service principally assisting in the administration of this Act;
“arrest warrant” —
(a) for
an accused, means a warrant that complies with section 31;
(b) for
a witness, means a warrant that complies with section 160;
“audio link” means facilities,
including telephones, that enable, at the same time, a court at one place to
hear a person at another place and vice versa;
“case” means a prosecution, or any
proceedings in a court that involve its criminal jurisdiction;
“charge” means a written allegation in
a prosecution notice or indictment that a person has committed an offence;
“convict” , in relation to a charge,
has the meaning given by subsection (2)(a);
“corporation” means any body
corporate, whether incorporated in this State or elsewhere;
“court” means a court of summary
jurisdiction or a superior court;
“court hearing notice” means a
document that complies with section 33(1);
“court of summary jurisdiction” means
a court, or a person, acting in circumstances in which it, he or she is a
court of summary jurisdiction by virtue of another written law;
“courtroom” includes any place where a
court is sitting;
“deal with” a charge, includes to hear
and determine it;
“determine” a charge,
means —
(a) to
convict the accused of the charge;
(b) to
acquit the accused of the charge; or
(c) to
enter judgment on the charge under section 128(2) or (3);
“document” means a record that is on
paper or that is capable of being put on paper;
“DPP” means the Director of Public
Prosecutions appointed under the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1991
or any person performing the functions or acting in that office;
“either way charge” means an
indictable charge that, by virtue of The Criminal Code section 5, or
another written law, may be tried either on indictment or summarily;
“electronic recording” means an
electronic or magnetic recording of sounds or moving images or both;
“indictable charge” means a charge of
an indictable offence;
“indictable offence” means a crime or
any other offence described by a written law as an indictable offence,
irrespective of whether in some circumstances it may be dealt with summarily;
“indictment” means a document that
contains one or more indictable charges, complies with section 85(2), and
is lodged with a superior court;
“lawyer” means a certificated
practitioner within the meaning of the Legal Practice Act 2003 ;
“magistrate” means a magistrate
appointed under —
(a) the
Children’s Court of Western Australia Act 1988 ;
(b) the
Magistrates Court Act 2004 ; or
(c) any
other written law for the purpose of constituting a court of summary
jurisdiction;
“offence” means an indictable offence
or a simple offence;
“party” , in relation to a charge,
means the prosecutor or the accused;
“post” a document, means to send the
document by pre-paid ordinary post;
“prescribed court officer” , in
relation to a prosecution notice lodged with a court of summary jurisdiction,
means an officer of that court who is prescribed by rules of court made by
that court for the purposes of this Act;
“prosecution” means proceedings in a
court that allege a person has committed an offence and that are taken for the
purpose of having the person tried for the offence;
“prosecution notice” means a document
that contains one or more charges, complies with section 23(2), and is
lodged with a court of summary jurisdiction;
“prosecutor” means —
(a) in a
prosecution in a court of summary jurisdiction, the person who commenced the
prosecution or a person who in court represents that person;
(b) in a
prosecution in a superior court, the authorised officer (as defined in
section 80) who commenced the prosecution or a person who in court
represents that person;
“public authority” means —
(a) a
Minister of the State;
(b) a
department of the Public Service;
(c) a
local government or a regional local government; or
(d) a
body, whether incorporated or not, or the holder of an office, being a body or
office that is established for a public purpose under a written law and that,
under the authority of a written law, performs a statutory function on behalf
of the State;
“record” means any thing or
process —
(a) on
or by which information is recorded or stored; or
(b) by
means of which a meaning can be conveyed by any means in a visible or
recoverable form,
whether or not the use
or assistance of some electronic, electrical, mechanical, chemical or other
device or process is required to recover or convey the information or meaning;
“remand warrant” means a warrant
issued by a court under this Act or the Sentencing Act 1995 that orders
that an accused be kept in custody while a case is adjourned;
“simple offence” means an offence that
is not an indictable offence;
“statutory penalty” for an offence,
means the penalty specified by a written law for the offence;
“summons” , to an accused, means a
document that complies with section 32(1);
“superior court” means the Supreme
Court or the District Court;
“trial date” means the date set for
the start of a trial;
“vehicle” has the meaning given by the
Road Traffic Act 1974 ;
“video link” means facilities,
including closed circuit television, that enable, at the same time, a court at
one place to see and hear a person at another place and vice versa;
“witness summons” means a document
that complies with section 161;
“witness undertaking” has the meaning
given by Schedule 4 clause 1;
“working day” means a day other than a
Saturday, a Sunday, or a public holiday throughout the State.
(2) For the purposes
of this Act —
(a) a
person is convicted of a charge if a court under section 147(1) enters a
judgment of conviction of the offence charged in respect of the person;
(b) a
person is acquitted of a charge if a court —
(i)
under section 147(2) enters a judgment of acquittal
of the offence charged on account of unsoundness of mind in respect of the
person; or
(ii)
under section 147(3) enters a judgment of acquittal
of the offence charged in respect of the person.