A judge presiding over a preliminary hearing under s 247G of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) has power to summarily dismiss a summary prosecution where an essential condition of criminal liability cannot be established, without the need to proceed to a final hearing. A ruling that a statutory notice underlying a criminal charge is invalid is effectively a final order, not an interlocutory judgment or order for the purposes of s 5F(3) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW). For a notice under s 191 of the POEO Act to be valid, it must identify with sufficient clarity the documents required to be produced and show the addressee that the issuer is entitled to require their production.
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