Ku-ring-gai Council v John David Chia (No 4) [2018] NSWLEC 75

Ku-ring-gai Council v John David Chia (No 4) [2018] NSWLEC 75

Section 122U(5) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) expressly authorises the use of information obtained from compelled interviews to gather further information, which is then admissible, notwithstanding self-incrimination; therefore, the investigator's use of the defendant's compulsory interview to inform the questioning of witnesses was not improper or unlawful, and the application to exclude their evidence under s 138 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) must be dismissed.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
22 May 2018
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Interlocutory Application Before Trial
Outcome
application dismissed
Legal Topics
['exclusion of Evidence' 'compulsory Interviews' 'privilege Against Self Incrimination' 'companion Rule' 'principle of Legality' 'statutory Construction']
['criminal Law' 'evidence Law' 'statutory Interpretation'] ['exclusion of Evidence' 'compulsory Interviews' 'privilege Against Self Incrimination' 'companion Rule' 'principle of Legality' 'statutory Construction']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal / Interlocutory Application Before Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether evidence from certain witnesses should be excluded under s 138 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) for being improperly obtained' "Whether use of a defendant's compulsory interview to inform the questioning of other witnesses breaches the privilege against self-incrimination or constitutes an abuse of process" 'Whether s 122U(5) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) abrogates the common law companion rule and to what extent']

Ratio Decidendi

Section 122U(5) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW) expressly authorises the use of information obtained from compelled interviews to gather further information, which is then admissible, notwithstanding self-incrimination; therefore, the investigator's use of the defendant's compulsory interview to inform the questioning of witnesses was not improper or unlawful, and the application to exclude their evidence under s 138 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) must be dismissed.

Court Disposition

application dismissed

Orders

  • ["The defendant's application to exclude evidence pursuant to s 138 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) is dismissed."]