Non-compliance with the formal requirements of s 23 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2004 (WA) — specifically, the requirement that a prosecution notice be signed in the presence of a WA justice of the peace — does not render the prosecution notice invalid or deprive the Magistrates Court of jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the Magistrates Court to hear simple offences is conferred by ss 9 and 11 of the Magistrates Court Act 2004 (WA), not by the CPA. Section 178 of the CPA is a broad remedial provision that empowers correction of defects in prosecution notices, including by re-execution. A party who fails to raise a defect in a prosecution notice at trial will not be permitted to raise it on appeal where the defect could have been corrected if the point had been taken below.
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