Supreme Court Act 1933

This part applies if—

a person has been acquitted of an offence (a principal offence); and

a double jeopardy law of the Territory would, but for this part, prevent the person from being retried for the principal offence, or from being tried for another offence, in a proceeding in the ACT.

A reference to a person acquitted of a principal offence includes a person acquitted of a principal offence in a proceeding in another jurisdiction if a law of the jurisdiction provides for the retrial of the person for the offence, or the trial of the person for another offence.

This part abrogates the doctrine of double jeopardy, however expressed in a double jeopardy law, to the extent necessary for the operation of this part and—

confers on the Crown a right of appeal against an acquittal in a criminal proceeding; and

permits the retrial of a person acquitted of an offence (the acquittal offence), and the trial of the person for another offence.

Note A reference to a territory law includes a reference to an Act and the common law (see Legislation Act, dict, pt 1, def territory law).

In this section:

double jeopardy law means a territory law that gives effect to a rule of double jeopardy in a criminal proceeding.

Example—law that gives effect to a rule of double jeopardy

a law that does any of the following in relation to a criminal proceeding:

makes available the plea of autrefois acquit or autrefois convict;

gives effect to the principle that a person should not be punished more than once for the same matter;

gives effect to the principle of finality of an acquittal;

prevents an abuse of process brought about by repeated prosecution for an offence when the repeated prosecution is based on facts that are manifestly inconsistent with a previous acquittal or previous conviction