Costs in Criminal Cases Act 1967 (NSW)

Costs in Criminal Cases Act 1967 No 13

An Act relating to costs in criminal cases; to amend the Justices Act 1902 as amended by subsequent Acts; and for purposes connected therewith.

1 Name of Act, commencement and application (1) This Act may be cited as the Costs in Criminal Cases Act 1967. (2) This Act shall commence upon a day to be appointed by the Governor and notified by proclamation published in the Gazette. (3) This Act does not apply in respect of proceedings instituted, or appeals lodged, before its commencement.

1A Definition In this Act— Director-General means the Director-General of the Attorney General's Department.

2 Certificate may be granted (1) The Court or Judge or Magistrate in any proceedings relating to any offence, whether punishable summarily or upon indictment, may— (a) where, after the commencement of a trial in the proceedings, a defendant is acquitted or discharged in relation to the offence concerned, or a direction is given by the Director of Public Prosecutions that no further proceedings be taken, or (b) where, on appeal, the conviction of the defendant is quashed and— (i) the defendant is discharged as to the indictment upon which he or she was convicted, or (ii) the information or complaint upon which the defendant was convicted is dismissed, grant to that defendant a certificate under this Act, specifying the matters referred to in section 3 and relating to those proceedings. (2) For the avoidance of doubt, a certificate may be granted in accordance with subsection (1) (a) following an acquittal or discharge of a defendant at any time during a trial, whether a hearing on the merits of the proceedings has occurred or not. (3) In this section, trial, in relation to proceedings, includes a special hearing conducted under the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 and also includes preliminary proceedings that form part of the trial, for example, a voir dire.