Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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EXTRADITION AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2001 (NO. 1) 2001 NO. 268

STATUTORY RULES 2001 No. 268

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Justice and Customs

Extradition Act 1988

Extradition Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 1)

Section 55 of the Extradition Act 1988 provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

The purpose of the Regulations is to amend the Extradition Regulations (the principal Regulations) by applying Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code to the principal Regulations and making consequential amendments to the offence-creating provisions set out in the principal Regulations. The consequential amendments are designed to ensure that the offence-creating provisions will continue to operate in the same manner as they do at present following application of the Criminal Code.

Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code (the Criminal Code) is contained in a Schedule to the Criminal Code Act 1995. Its purpose is to codify the general principles of criminal responsibility under laws of the Commonwealth.

The Criminal Code provides that, unless otherwise specified in the relevant legislation, in order for an offence to be proved an accused must not only commit the physical elements of the offence but do so with the relevant fault element or elements, namely intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence. An offence that does not require proof of the relevant fault element or elements is an offence of strict liability. The Criminal Code provides that in order for an offence to be an offence of strict liability it must be expressly stated to be such an offence.

The application of the Criminal Code to the principal Regulations is intended not to interfere with the policy underlying existing offences, and if an offence is currently one of strict liability then it is to remain so after the application of the Criminal Code to the principal Regulations.

Details of each of the Regulations are set out in the attachment.

The Regulations commence on gazettal.

ATTACHMENT

Extradition Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 1)

Regulation 1 refers to the name of the Regulations.

Regulation 2 provides for the Regulations to commence on gazettal.

Regulation 3 refers to the Schedule of the Regulations which contains the amendments to the Principal Regulations.

Item [1] inserts regulation 2A which applies Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code to all offences against the Principal Regulations. Chapter 2 establishes the codified general principles of criminal responsibility. The standard note concerning Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code setting out the principles of criminal responsibility is added after regulation 2A.

Item [2] consequentially amends Regulation 9.

Item [3] converts the penalty for an offence against Regulation 9 from a dollar amount to penalty units.

Item [4] inserts subregulation 9(2), which provides that an offence against paragraph 9(1)(a) is an offence of strict liability. The standard note that refers to the Criminal Code provision governing the principles concerning strict liability (section 6.1) is added after subregulation 9(2). This amendment is necessary to ensure that the offence in paragraph 9(1)(a) continues to be interpreted as an offence of strict liability following application of Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code to the Principal Regulations.

Item [5] replaces the non-Criminal Code fault element of wilfulness in the offence established by paragraph 10(a) with the equivalent Criminal Code fault element of intention.

Item [6] converts the penalty for an offence against Regulation 10 from a dollar amount to penalty units.