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repeals various sections of the Crimes Act 1958. The repeals fall into two categories. First, where the substance of the section has been re-enacted in the Bill and, secondly, where the section is obsolete and has not been re-enacted. Those in the first category have been discussed throughout this Explanatory Memorandum. Those in the second are reviewed below. Section 359AA of the Crimes Act 1958 has been separated into a separate subclause (3). This section provides a power to transfer related summary offences to the Supreme Court or County Court. It has been separated as there is a possibility that because of information technology requirements for the new related summary offence process in clause 145, the commencement of that clause may need to be delayed. Section 359AA would need to continue to operate in the interregnum. Crimes Act 1958 section 379—description of Crown property This section was originally enacted in 1958 and related to a specific problem that existed at the time. New offences created by the Crimes (Theft) Act 1973 and the procedural provisions in section 73(9) of the Crimes Act 1958 have rendered it obsolete. Crimes Act 1958 section 380—property under management of body corporate deemed to be property thereof This section deems that any property that a body corporate manages, controls or has custody of is the property of the body corporate for the purpose of a criminal proceeding against any other person for an offence in respect of the property. This specific statement is no longer needed as a result of section 71(2) of the Crimes Act 1958 which provides that "property shall be regarded as belonging to any person having possession or control of it, or having in it any proprietary right or interest (not being an equitable interest arising only from an agreement to transfer or grant an interest)." Crimes Act 1958 section 381—money or securities etc. may simply be described as money This section derives from section 71 of the Larceny Act 1861 (UK) (24 & 25 Vict. c.96) which appears to have been primarily enacted to overcome highly technical eighteenth century pleading rules in the United Kingdom which have never been part of Victorian law. The repeal of section 381 would not revive the technical pleading rules unless Parliament indicates an intention to do so (section 14(2) of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984). The section also deals with the effect of a description of "money" in a presentment. It serves no contemporary purpose and has not been re-enacted. Crimes Act 1958 section 382—presentment for stealing etc. documents of title This section provides that it is sufficient to allege that a document of title to land is or contains evidence of title. The offence to which this procedural provision relates (stealing or fraudulently destroying, etc a document of title to land) was repealed by the Crimes (Theft) Act 1973. There is now no reasonable possibility that a person will be charged with such an offence that occurred before 1 October 1974. Crimes Act 1958 section 389—no person entitled to traverse or have time to plead This section provides that the court may adjourn a case to allow an accused time to plead, demur or prepare their defence but that there is no right or entitlement to such an adjournment. The general power of adjournment in clause 331 is sufficient to cover this situation. Crimes Act 1958 section 396—not necessary to inquire into accused's land This section provides that where a person is presented for treason or an indictable offence, it is not necessary to inquire into their lands or goods, nor whether the person fled for the offence. It is likely that this section was first enacted because of a concern that failure to re-enact it might revive earlier jury functions of inquiring into the lands or goods of an accused and inquiring as to whether the accused had fled for the purpose of common law forfeiture. The provision is no longer regarded as necessary because section 14(2) of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 provides that repeal of a provision of an Act does not revive anything not in force at the time of the repeal. Crimes Act 1958 section 409—no need to prove specific intent to defraud in trials relating to instruments The only offences to which this section directly related were abolished as part of the overhaul of Division 3 made by the Crimes (Criminal Damage) Act 1978. There remains one offence to which this section could technically apply (because it is in Division 3 of Part 1 of the Crimes Act 1958 and includes as an element an intention to injure a person), namely "Threats to safety of aircraft" in section 246E. Section 409 is of no assistance in relation to that offence, because it refers to an intention "to kill or injure all or any of the persons on board an aircraft". It could not be sufficient for a charge for an offence against section 246E simply to prove "an intent to injure" as indicated in section 409. Therefore, section 409 is no longer necessary. Crimes Act 1958 section 422—procedure where facts disclose more serious offence Although in its current form this provision is relatively recent (the current wording was introduced in 1981), the provision has a long history that is closely tied to technical rules that related to the distinction between felonies and misdemeanours. Historically, the common law doctrine of merger had the effect that if the same facts constituted both a felony and a misdemeanour, the misdemeanour merged into the felony. This meant that if a person was put on trial for a misdemeanour, but the evidence at the trial disclosed that the person had actually committed a felony, the trial had to be aborted. The section is no longer necessary because the particular obstacle posed by the common law doctrine of merger has long been overcome in Victoria by the abolition of the distinction between felonies and misdemeanours. Crimes Act 1958 section 423—alternative verdict of unlawfully wounding This section relates to offences no longer contained in the Crimes Act 1958. Crimes Act 1958 section 424—alternative verdict of administering poison This section refers to the offence of administering poisoning. The offence of administering poison was abolished in 1986. A new offence administering a substance to another was created at the same time in section 19 of the Crimes Act 1958. However, that offence is significantly different from the offence of administering a poison. Crimes Act 1958 section 436—records to be drawn in amended form This section provides that if a record is to be drawn up based on proceedings under the Crimes Act 1958, it should be based on an amended form of the presentment. This provision is unnecessary. Crimes Act 1958 section 437—judgment not to be reversed because juror not returned as juror This section provides that a judgment is not to be reversed or stayed simply because a juror has not been returned as a juror by the Juries Commissioner. However, there is no current statutory requirement that a juror be "returned as a juror by the Juries Commissioner". Crimes Act 1958 section 439—payment of fine forwarded to Prothonotary This section requires the officer in charge of a prison to forward any money received to pay a fine to the court. This involves antiquated practices and it is unnecessary to include such a requirement in legislation. Crimes Act 1958 section 444—procedure on disagreement by jury This section empowers a court to direct that a new trial take place where a jury is discharged upon being unable to reach a verdict after six hours deliberation. This is unnecessary as a result of section 46(2) of the Juries Act 2000. Crimes Act 1958 section 453—scale of charges This section enables the court to establish a scale of fees for the conduct of business in the criminal jurisdiction. This provision is unnecessary because a power to make rules in relation to costs and fees is already provided for in each court's legislation (i.e. section 140(1) of the Magistrates' Court Act 1989, section 78 of the County Court Act 1958 and section 129 of the Supreme Court Act 1986). Crimes Act 1958 section 456—provision as to action against persons acting in pursuance of Act The history of this section can be traced back to section 412 of the Criminal Law and Practice Act 1864. The effect of the provision is that a plaintiff who successfully brings an action against an accused relating to the exercise of powers under the Crimes Act 1958 will not be entitled to recover any damages awarded if they had previously rejected an offer from the accused to pay a sum equal to or higher than the damages awarded. These issues are now dealt with under the Supreme Court Rules as part of civil procedure and do not need to be referred to in the Bill. Section 456 also contains a limited form of immunity for those that exercise powers under the Crimes Act 1958 (e.g. the DPP, Crown Prosecutors, members of the judiciary and Victoria Police). These have been rendered redundant by modern forms of immunity in, for example, the Police Regulation Act 1958 and the Public Prosecutions Act 1994. Crimes Act 1958 section 571—jurisdiction of Court of Appeal This section provides that all jurisdiction and authority in relation to questions of law arising in criminal trials is vested in the Court of Appeal. The section now serves no purpose in light of section 10 of the Supreme Court Act 1986 and section 85 of the Constitution Act 1975. Crimes Act 1958 section 581—notes of evidence on trial This section relates to payment for transcripts. This provision is unnecessary given the current role and practices of the Victorian Government Reporting Service. There is no need for the Bill to contain a comparable provision. Crimes Act 1958 Schedule 3 Schedule 3 relates to section 353(1) of the Crimes Act 1958, which provides that a presentment must be in the form contained in Schedule 3. The effect of Schedule 3 is now dealt with in clause 159(3) of the Bill. Crimes Act 1958 Schedule 4—certificate Schedule 4 contains a certificate which is relevant to section 357 of the Crimes Act 1958. That section deals with the situation where a person has been committed for trial but the DPP decides not to prosecute. Schedule 4 is no longer relevant in light of the procedure for discontinuing a prosecution in clause 177. Crimes Act 1958 Schedule 6—Appendix to Presentment Rules The Appendix to the presentment rules contained in Schedule 6 sets out forms for certain offences. Some of the offences referred to no longer exist (e.g. malicious wounding contrary to section 19 of the Crimes Act 1958). The Appendix itself is also unnecessary in light of the general requirements for charges in Schedule 1 to the Bill.