Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts

CORONERS ACT 1997 (NO. 57 OF 1997) - SECT 88

88. (1) A person shall not—

        (a)     wilfully threaten, disturb or insult the Court;

        (b)     wilfully interrupt, interfere with or obstruct the proceedings of the Court; or

        (c)     commit any other act that is a wilful contempt of the Court.

Penalty:

        (a)     if the offender is a natural person—100 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both;

        (b)     if the offender is a body corporate—500 penalty units.

(2) Subsection (1) only applies to acts in the face, or within the hearing, of the Court.

(3) Without limiting the operation of any other provision of this Act, where a person commits an offence against subsection (1), a Coroner may proceed to charge the person and hear and dispose of the matter immediately and for that purpose receive evidence including unsworn evidence.

(4) Where—

        (a)     a person has been charged under subsection (3) but the matter has not been disposed of;

        (b)     a Coroner has reasonable grounds to believe that the person has committed an offence against subsection (1); and

        (c)     the Coroner considers that it is reasonable in all the circumstances—

              (i)     to order that the person be taken into custody to appear before the Court;

              (ii)     to order that the person be remanded in custody from time to time for periods not exceeding 15 clear days at any one time;

              (iii)     to release the person on bail; or

              (iv)     to make an order in respect of the person under subsection (8) before the alleged offence has been heard;

the Coroner may make such an order.

(5) An order under subsection (4) need not be in writing but such an order shall be reduced to writing, and a copy served on the alleged offender, as soon as practicable.

(6) Failure to comply with subsection (5) does not invalidate an order.

(7) Where a person is convicted of an offence against subsection (1), the Court, in addition to any penalty provided for under that subsection that it imposes, may make an order in relation to the person under subsection (8).

(8) An order under this subsection may provide for—

        (a)     the exclusion of the person from any building in which the Court sits or the environs of such a building;

        (b)     prohibiting the person from approaching a Coroner, an officer of the Court or a witness; or

        (c)     the imposition of any reasonable condition on the person.

(9) In this section—