Practitioners acting for defendants in historical child sexual abuse claims in Victoria should note that the test for a permanent stay is not confined to whether a fair trial is possible; the broader question is whether the proceeding would be manifestly unfair to the defendant or would bring the administration of justice into disrepute, and factors such as the death of adult witnesses, destruction of physical evidence, and the defendant's age at the time of alleged events are all relevant.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 38 later cases that cite this judgment.
6 of the 38 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.