Western Australian Consolidated Acts

SUITORS' FUND ACT 1964 - SECT 14

14 .         Costs of new trial etc. where proceedings aborted etc. due to no fault of party may be met from Fund

        (1)         Where after the coming into operation of this Act —

            (a)         any civil or criminal proceedings are rendered abortive by the death or protracted illness of the judge, magistrate or justice before whom the proceedings were had or by disagreement on the part of the jury where the proceedings are with a jury; or

            (b)         an appeal on a question of law against the conviction of a person (in this section called the appellant ) convicted on indictment or summarily is upheld and a new trial is ordered; or

            (ba)         an appeal commenced by a prosecutor under section 24(2)(da) or 25(3)(aa) of the Criminal Appeals Act 2004 is upheld and a new trial is ordered; or

            (c)         the hearing of any civil or criminal proceeding is discontinued and a new trial is ordered by the presiding judge, magistrate or justice for a reason not attributable in any way to the act, neglect or default in the case of civil proceedings of all or any one or more of the parties thereto or their counsel or solicitors, or, in the case of criminal proceedings, of the accused or his counsel or solicitor, and the presiding judge, magistrate or justice grants a certificate, which he is hereby empowered to grant —

                  (i)         in the case of civil proceedings — to any party thereto stating the reason why the proceedings were discontinued and a new trial ordered and that the reason was not attributable in any way to the act, neglect or default of all or any one or more of the parties to the proceedings or their counsel or solicitors; or

                  (ii)         in the case of criminal proceedings — to the accused stating the reason why the proceedings were discontinued and a new trial ordered and that the reason was not attributable in any way to the act, neglect or default of the accused or his counsel or solicitor,

                or where after the coming into operation of the Suitors’ Fund Act Amendment Act 1971 ¹   —

            (d)         a criminal proceeding in any court is adjourned by or on behalf of the prosecution and the presiding judge, magistrate or justice grants a certificate, which he is hereby empowered to grant if he is satisfied that by reason of the adjournment the accused has necessarily incurred expense, to the accused stating the reason why the proceedings were adjourned and that the reason was not attributable in any way to the act, neglect or default of the accused or his counsel or solicitor,

                and any party to the civil proceedings or the accused in the criminal proceedings or the appellant, as the case may be, incurs additional costs by reason of the new trial that is had as a consequence of the proceedings being so rendered abortive or as a consequence of the order for a new trial or as a consequence of the adjournment, then the Board may, upon application made to it in that behalf, direct the payment from moneys standing to the credit of the Fund to the party or the accused or the appellant, as the case may be, of the costs or such part thereof, as the Board may determine incurred by the party or the accused or the appellant in the proceedings before they were rendered abortive or were adjourned or the conviction was quashed or the hearing of the proceedings was so discontinued.

        (1a)         For the purposes of this section a criminal proceeding is deemed to have been adjourned where the prosecution has notified the accused or his counsel or solicitor that a date has been fixed for the hearing of the proceedings and the proceeding is, without his consent, not listed for hearing on that day.

        (1b)         An application for a certificate under subsection (1) with respect to the adjournment of a criminal proceeding may be made when the proceedings come on for hearing and a certificate may then be granted in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1)(d).

        (2)         An amount shall not be paid from moneys standing to the credit of the Fund under this section to the Crown or to a company or foreign company that has a paid up capital of or equivalent to $200 000 or more.

        [Section 14 amended by No. 113 of 1965 s. 8; No. 72 of 1969 s. 4; No. 57 of 1971 s. 7; No. 49 of 1996 s. 64; No. 84 of 2004 s. 80; No. 2 of 2008 s. 71.]