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Provisions) Bill 1995
Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.
This Bill is cognate with the Evidence Bill 1995.
(a)
to repeal the Evidence Act 1898 and the Evidence (Reproductions) Act
1967 as a consequence of the enactment of the proposed Evidence Act
1995 and the Evidence on Commission Act 1995 and to make
necessary consequential amendments to various Acts, and
(b)
to amend the Crimes Act 1900 to set out the criteria to be satisfied in
order for admissions by accused persons made in the course of official
questioning and made at a time when they were under suspicion of
having committed an offence to be admissible as evidence, and
(c)
to enact consequential savings, transitional and other provisions.
Clause 1 sets out the name (also called the short title) of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on a day or
days to be proclaimed.
Clause 3 repeals the Acts referred to in paragraph (a) of the Overview of
this Bill.
Clauses 4 and 5 are formal provisions giving effect to the amendments set
out in Schedule 1 and the savings, transitional and other provisions set out in
Schedule 2.
Schedule 1 contains the amendments referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of
the Overview of this Bill.
The amendments referred to in paragraph (a) of the Overview of this Bill
include amendments:
*
to repeal provisions of the Crimes Act 1900 to be superseded by the
proposed Acts (for example, section 405C which will be superseded
by proposed section 164 (3) of the Evidence Act 1995 and section
413A which will be superseded by proposed section 104)
*
to repeal provisions of the Oaths Act 1900 to be replaced by the
proposed Act (for example, sections 33 and 34 which will be
superseded by proposed section 13 of the Evidence Act 1995)
*
to make it clear that proposed section 127 (Religious confessions) of
the Evidence Act 1995 will apply to hearings or proceedings before
certain bodies (for example, the New South Wales Crime
Commission) to which other provisions of the proposed Act are not to
apply
*
to translate references to the Evidence Act 1898 to corresponding
references in the proposed Evidence Act 1995.
The amendment referred to in paragraph (b) of the Overview of this Bill is
based on the recommendations of the Criminal Law Review Division of the
Attorney General's Department in a report titled A Proposed System of
Electronically Recording Police Interviews with Suspected Persons (1986).
Explanatory note page 2
Proposed section 424A of the Crimes Act 1900 (Schedule 1.5 (3)) provides
that evidence of admissions allegedly made to police officers (and other
prescribed investigating officials) but not electronically recorded should
generally not be admissible. If, however, an investigating official has a
reasonable excuse for failing to make such a recording the evidence is
admissible but only if the other requirements of the proposed section are
met.
If an investigating official has a reasonable excuse for not recording an
admission, evidence of the admission is admissible if investigating officials
subsequently hold a recorded interview and put the earlier admission to the
suspect and invite comment. If no later recorded interview is held, the
evidence is inadmissible unless investigating officials can demonstrate a
reasonable excuse for not holding such a recorded interview.
Proposed section 424A will provide additional requirements concerning the
admissibility of admissions to which it applies to those contained in Part 3.4
of the proposed Evidence Act 1995.
Schedule 2 contains the provisions referred to in paragraph (c) of the
Overview of this Bill. It contains a power to make regulations of a savings
and transitional nature (clause 1) and makes certain savings relating to the
repeal of some of the provisions of the Evidence Act 1898 and the Evidence
(Reproductions) Act 1967 (clauses 11-15).
The provisions of the Evidence Act 1995 and Evidence on Commission Act
1995 will not apply to proceedings the hearings of which began before the
commencement of the provisions (clause 2). For example, a provision of the
proposed Evidence Act 1995 that is applicable to criminal proceedings will
not apply to proceedings if the arraignment of the accused has occurred
before commencement of the provision. However, Schedule 2 enables
procedural steps on which the operation of particular provisions depend to
be taken before the provision concerned commences (clauses 3 (1) and (2)
and 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8).
Explanatory note page 3