Non-appearance of corporate accused charged with indictable offence
82 Non-appearance of corporate accused charged with indictable offence
If a corporate accused does not appear in answer to a summons to answer to a charge for an indictable offence that may be heard and determined summarily, the Magistrates' Court may hear and determine the charge summarily in the absence of the accused if—
the court is satisfied that the charge and the return date in relation to it have been brought to the notice of the accused; and
the court considers that the charge is appropriate to be determined summarily—
even though the accused has not consented to a summary hearing.
If the Magistrates' Court proceeds to hear and determine a charge summarily in accordance with subsection (1), the court may dispense with or vary any requirement imposed by or under this Part.
If the Magistrates' Court finds a corporate accused guilty in its absence, the court must cause written notice of any sentence imposed by it to be served on the accused.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandumSecond reading speech
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