Inspector Ross Wolf v Rockdale Beef Pty Ltd [2005] NSWIRComm 184

Inspector Ross Wolf v Rockdale Beef Pty Ltd [2005] NSWIRComm 184

Only questions of law that are specifically and properly framed, with an identified factual foundation, can be stated pursuant to s5AE Criminal Appeal Act 1912; several of the proposed questions concerned matters of discretion or the application of law to fact and thus were not suitable for a stated case. The factual basis for a stated case must be formulated by the prosecution before any referral to the Full Court can proceed. Questions as currently drafted were either not questions of law, were too general, or lacked sufficient factual foundation.

Parties
Prosecutor: Inspector Ross Wolf; Defendant: Rockdale Beef Pty Ltd
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
03 June 2005
Procedural Posture
Prosecution Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 / Application to State a Case Under S5 AE Criminal Appeal Act 1912, Judgment on Proper Framing of Questions for Stated Case
Outcome
Questions refused or required to be reframed; application adjourned for prosecution to properly formulate factual foundation and reframed questions; costs reserved.
Legal Topics
Stated Case Procedure, Abuse of Process, Prosecutor's Obligations, Fair Trial
Occupational Health and Safety Industrial Law Criminal Procedure Stated Case Procedure Abuse of Process Prosecutor's Obligations Fair Trial

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Parties

Inspector Ross Wolf

Prosecutor

Rockdale Beef Pty Ltd

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Prosecution Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 / Application to State a Case Under S5 AE Criminal Appeal Act 1912, Judgment on Proper Framing of Questions for Stated Case

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether proposed questions for stated case raise proper questions of law under s5AE Criminal Appeal Act 1912
  2. 2 Requirements for properly framing a stated case including factual foundation
  3. 3 Prosecutor's obligations in Occupational Health and Safety prosecutions

Ratio Decidendi

Only questions of law that are specifically and properly framed, with an identified factual foundation, can be stated pursuant to s5AE Criminal Appeal Act 1912; several of the proposed questions concerned matters of discretion or the application of law to fact and thus were not suitable for a stated case. The factual basis for a stated case must be formulated by the prosecution before any referral to the Full Court can proceed. Questions as currently drafted were either not questions of law, were too general, or lacked sufficient factual foundation.

Court Disposition

Questions refused or required to be reframed; application adjourned for prosecution to properly formulate factual foundation and reframed questions; costs reserved.

Orders

  • Prosecutor to attend to properly framing the facts and to recasting questions 5 and 8 before any referral.
  • Costs reserved.