Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) This section does
not limit a superior court’s inherent powers.
(2) A power in this
section to make an order includes a power to amend or cancel the order.
(3) Unless this Act or
the rules of court or another written law provides otherwise, a court may do
any or all of the following for the purposes of controlling and managing cases
before it —
(a)
order the parties to a case —
(i)
to confer on a “without prejudice” basis or
to take other measures before trial to try to identify those facts and issues
in the case that are agreed between them and those that will be in issue at
the trial of the case;
(ii)
to attend before the court before trial for the purpose
of dealing with case management and pre-trial issues;
(iii)
to do anything that in the court’s opinion will or
may facilitate the case being conducted and concluded efficiently,
economically and expeditiously;
(b)
order 2 or more witnesses who are to give expert opinion evidence, whether for
the prosecutor or the accused, and whose evidence has been disclosed —
(i)
to confer on a “without prejudice” basis
before trial in order to identify the differences between them and to resolve
as many of them as possible;
(ii)
to each provide a report to the court that explains which
aspects of the evidence to be given by the other are disputed and why.
(4) Despite
section 171(2) but without affecting the operation of the rest of section 171,
the courtroom where proceedings ordered under subsection (3)(a) are conducted
before a court is not to be regarded as an open court.
(5) If a person
publishes outside a court anything said orally or in writing, any admission
made, anything done, or any document prepared, in or for the purpose of
proceedings ordered under, or pursuant to an order made under, subsection
(3)(a), the person commits an offence.
Penalty:
(a) for
an individual, a fine of $12 000 or imprisonment for 12 months;
(b) for
a corporation, a fine of $60 000.
(6) A court of summary
jurisdiction may make rules of court for the purposes of this section.