Section 371(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) confers power to extend time for holding a special hearing nunc pro tunc after the hearing has already been held, provided exceptional circumstances exist and the extension is in the interests of justice. The section is procedural, not jurisdictional, and s 371(3) confirms that extensions may be granted after time has expired. A combination of errors by the Crown, defence and the court — where all parties mistakenly believed an extension had been granted — can constitute exceptional circumstances within s 371(2).
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