Western Australian Numbered Acts Western Australian Numbered Acts (1) At any time after
a court of summary jurisdiction commits an accused —
(a) for
sentence on an indictable charge, not having convicted the accused of the
charge; or
(b) for
trial on an indictable charge,
and before an
indictment is lodged that contains the charge, the relevant authorised officer
may lodge with the superior court concerned a notice discontinuing the
prosecution of the charge.
(2) If a court of
summary jurisdiction commits an accused for sentence for an indictable
offence, having convicted the accused of the offence, proceedings against the
accused for the offence cannot be discontinued.
(3) At any time after
an indictment is lodged with a superior court, the relevant authorised officer
may lodge with the court a notice discontinuing the prosecution of the charge,
or of some or all of the charges, in the indictment, as the officer decides.
(4) A notice under
subsection (1) or (3) must be —
(a) in
writing in a prescribed form;
(b)
signed by the relevant authorised officer; and
(c)
lodged in the prescribed manner.
(5) When a notice is
lodged under subsection (1) or (3), the court may consent or, in
exceptional circumstances, refuse to consent to the discontinuance of the
prosecution concerned.
(6) If a prosecution
of a charge is discontinued, the court must discharge the accused from the
charge.
(7) The fact that the
prosecution of an accused for a charge is discontinued under this section does
not prevent the accused from being charged later with the same offence, either
in a court of summary jurisdiction or in a superior court.