Abdou v The Queen

In the case of Abdou v The Queen, two applicants, A1 and A2, were involved in multiple armed robberies committed as part of a group. A1 was sentenced to four years and four months in prison, followed by a four-year Community Corrections Order (CCO), while A2 received a sentence of eight years imprisonment with a non-parole period of six years. Both applicants appealed their sentences, raising various legal issues regarding the appropriateness of their sentences and the application of the parity principle.

The court had to determine whether the individual sentences imposed on A1 and A2 were excessive, taking into account the principles of general and specific deterrence, and whether the total effective sentence and CCO for A1 were manifestly excessive. Additionally, the court had to assess if the non-parole period for A2 and the total effective sentence for both applicants were consistent with the parity principle. The court also considered whether the non-parole period for A2 was inconsistent with the judge's stated intention.

The court found that the original sentences imposed on A1 and A2 contained errors. For A1, the court determined that the non-parole period should be fixed at three years and ten months, but the total effective sentence and CCO remained unaltered. The court concluded that the original non-parole period breached the Sentencing Act 1991, section 11, and that the general and specific deterrence considerations were incorrectly moderated. Regarding A2, the court found that the individual sentence was not contrary to the parity principle, as the judge had appropriately considered the roles and backgrounds of the co-offenders. However, the court reduced the individual sentence on charge 2 to two years, while maintaining the order for cumulation on that charge and the total effective sentence. The non-parole period for A2 was fixed at five years.

The final orders of the court included fixing the non-parole period of A1's sentence at three years and ten months and reducing the individual sentence on charge 2 for A2 to two years, with the non-parole period set at five years. The total effective sentences and CCO for both applicants remained unchanged.