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defines the commencement of trial as when the accused pleads not guilty on arraignment in the presence of the jury panel in accordance with clause 217. The clause also provides for the situation where a jury panel is split into parts under section 30(5) of the Juries Act 2000, in which case the trial commences when the accused pleads not guilty on arraignment before the first of those parts. This definition is new and resolves uncertainty surrounding when a trial formally commences arising from the difference between the approach at common law (see R v Talia [1996] 1 VR 462) and section 2 of the Crimes (Criminal Trials) Act 1999. The new definition ensures that empanelling of the jury forms part of the trial. It also allows particularity as to the timing of pre-trial obligations (e.g. in clauses 182 and 183 which now run backwards from the day on which the trial is "listed to commence").