Mikus v Chief of Army

In Mikus v Chief of Army, the appellant, Lieutenant Colonel Mikus, appealed against his conviction for assaulting a subordinate, Private, at a function. The case was heard by the Australian court, which was required to determine the adequacy of the reasons provided by the Defence Force Magistrate (DFM) for the conviction and whether the DFM's decision was unreasonable or could not be supported by the evidence. The primary legal issues involved whether the DFM was required to give reasons for his conviction under the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 and the Defence Force Discipline Appeals Act 1955, and whether the DFM's decision was unsafe or unsatisfactory.

The court considered the nature and source of the obligation of a DFM to give reasons for a conviction, referencing relevant sections of the Defence Force Discipline Act, the Defence Force Discipline Appeals Act, and the Court Martial and Defence Force Magistrates Rules. It was noted that the obligation to give reasons stems from the common law and is reinforced by statutory provisions. The court further examined the principles governing the admissibility of evidence, particularly in relation to the risk of concoction, collusion, or contamination. It referred to cases such as Liberato v The Queen and R v JRW to elucidate the necessity for excluding evidence where there is a risk of contamination affecting the substance of the evidence.

The court concluded that the DFM's reasons for conviction were adequate and did not err in law. It held that the DFM was not required to warn himself under section 165 of the Evidence Act 1995 regarding the potential unreliability of the evidence due to the risk of concoction, collusion, or contamination. The court found that the DFM's decision was supported by the evidence and was neither unreasonable nor unsafe. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed.

The final orders of the court granted the appellant leave to appeal insofar as necessary and dismissed the appeal, confirming the conviction of the appellant.