Supreme Court of Tasmania

Circular No 1

23 January 2008

Criminal Procedure: New procedures for the disposition of indictable offences

New processes for the disposition of indictable offences are scheduled to commence from 1 February 2008.  The new procedures provide for:

• early file disclosure to defendants by police;

• early involvement of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions with respect to indictable matters committed to the Supreme Court, so that the charges will be settled without delay;
• preliminary proceedings for the taking of depositions to only occur by order of a Judge of the Supreme Court and to be conducted by Crown Counsel instead of police prosecutors; and,
• increased case management by the Supreme Court.

A guide to the new processes is available on the Supreme Court website: http://www.supremecourt.tas.gov.au/practice_and_procedure/criminal_rules.

The amending legislation associated with these new changes, The Justices Amendment Act 2007 can be viewed prior to 1 February under that name by ticking the sessional search option from: http://www.thelaw.tas.gov.au/index.w3p.  After commencement on 1 February the relevant amendments will be amalgamated into the Justices Act 1959 and the Criminal Code 1924.

New Supreme Court Rules amending the Criminal Rules 2006 associated with these new processes will be gazetted on 23 January 2008 and can be accessed from that date under the name Criminal (Directions Hearing) Rules 2008, ticking the sessional search option in http://www.thelaw.tas.gov.au/index.w3p.  After commencement on 1 February the relevant amendments will be found in the Criminal Rules 2006. 

Practice Direction 1 of 2008, dealing with these processes, is available from the Supreme Court website: http://www.supremecourt.tas.gov.au/practice_and_procedure/practice_directions .

Elizabeth Knight

REGISTRAR