❓ Mr Watson asks about improving the passport return system for acquitted citizens and the Attorney General responds, outlining current procedures and administrative hopes for quicker returns. The question also touches on preventing vexatious proceedings.
AnsweredQoN 1134Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(b) when the Australian citizen has his passport taken off him, is there a better system than one where he is found innocent and it takes six months for him to have it returned?
(a) It would be administratively difficult to enforce a system which required persons who are not Australian citizens to pay a bond as a pre-condition to the institution of criminal proceedings by them. Having regard to the existence of the Vexatious Proceedings Restriction Act 2002 and the remedies available thereunder, it is not considered necessary to implement and administer a scheme restricting the institution of criminal prosecutions by the requiring of the filing of bonds. (b) The temporary deposit by a defendant of his or her passport to a court is sometimes imposed as a condition of bail where a court considers there is a risk that the defendant could abscond. Upon acquittal, all bail conditions cease to have effect and an acquitted defendant is entitled to the return of his or her passport. It is hoped that administrative arrangements would facilitate the return of a passport in such circumstances as soon as reasonably practicable.
(b) The temporary deposit by a defendant of his or her passport to a court is sometimes imposed as a condition of bail where a court considers there is a risk that the defendant could abscond. Upon acquittal, all bail conditions cease to have effect and an acquitted defendant is entitled to the return of his or her passport. It is hoped that administrative arrangements would facilitate the return of a passport in such circumstances as soon as reasonably practicable.
(a) It would be administratively difficult to enforce a system which required persons who are not Australian citizens to pay a bond as a pre-condition to the institution of criminal proceedings by them. Having regard to the existence of the Vexatious Proceedings Restriction Act 2002 and the remedies available thereunder, it is not considered necessary to implement and administer a scheme restricting the institution of criminal prosecutions by the requiring of the filing of bonds. (b) The temporary deposit by a defendant of his or her passport to a court is sometimes imposed as a condition of bail where a court considers there is a risk that the defendant could abscond. Upon acquittal, all bail conditions cease to have effect and an acquitted defendant is entitled to the return of his or her passport. It is hoped that administrative arrangements would facilitate the return of a passport in such circumstances as soon as reasonably practicable.
(b) The temporary deposit by a defendant of his or her passport to a court is sometimes imposed as a condition of bail where a court considers there is a risk that the defendant could abscond. Upon acquittal, all bail conditions cease to have effect and an acquitted defendant is entitled to the return of his or her passport. It is hoped that administrative arrangements would facilitate the return of a passport in such circumstances as soon as reasonably practicable.
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
20 March 2003
Response time
21 days
Although I am unaware of any particular circumstances of a non-resident instituting criminal proceedings against an Australian citizen, I can appreciate that an innocent defendant who is inappropriately prosecuted may incur legal costs in defending those proceedings. The
Vexatious Proceedings Restriction Act
2002, recently proclaimed, provides some protection for defendants who are prosecuted in criminal proceedings, which have been instituted or pursued without reasonable ground.
(a) It would be administratively difficult to enforce a system which required persons who are not Australian citizens to pay a bond as a pre-condition to the institution of criminal proceedings by them. Having regard to the existence of the
Vexatious Proceedings Restriction Act
2002 and the remedies available thereunder, it is not considered necessary to implement and administer a scheme restricting the institution of criminal prosecutions by the requiring of the filing of bonds.
(b) The temporary deposit by a defendant of his or her passport to a court is sometimes imposed as a condition of bail where a court considers there is a risk that the defendant could abscond. Upon acquittal, all bail conditions cease to have effect and an acquitted defendant is entitled to the return of his or her passport. It is hoped that administrative arrangements would facilitate the return of a passport in such circumstances as soon as reasonably practicable.
Vexatious Proceedings Restriction Act
2002, recently proclaimed, provides some protection for defendants who are prosecuted in criminal proceedings, which have been instituted or pursued without reasonable ground.
(a) It would be administratively difficult to enforce a system which required persons who are not Australian citizens to pay a bond as a pre-condition to the institution of criminal proceedings by them. Having regard to the existence of the
Vexatious Proceedings Restriction Act
2002 and the remedies available thereunder, it is not considered necessary to implement and administer a scheme restricting the institution of criminal prosecutions by the requiring of the filing of bonds.
(b) The temporary deposit by a defendant of his or her passport to a court is sometimes imposed as a condition of bail where a court considers there is a risk that the defendant could abscond. Upon acquittal, all bail conditions cease to have effect and an acquitted defendant is entitled to the return of his or her passport. It is hoped that administrative arrangements would facilitate the return of a passport in such circumstances as soon as reasonably practicable.
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