PM v The Queen

The case of *PM v The Queen* concerned the jurisdiction of the District Court and the Children's Court of New South Wales, as well as the powers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in relation to criminal proceedings against children. The appellant, who was 16 years old at the time of the alleged offence, faced two charges. One charge was not a "serious children's indictable offence," while the other was. Following a committal hearing in the Children's Court, the appellant was committed to the District Court for trial on the serious children's indictable offence.

The central legal issues before the High Court were whether the District Court was required to remit the proceedings back to the Children's Court for determination, and whether the District Court possessed jurisdiction to deal with charges against a child that did not involve a "serious children's indictable offence." The court also considered the DPP's authority to file an indictment against a child.

The High Court, in a joint judgment, reasoned that the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW) did not explicitly exclude the District Court or the Supreme Court from exercising jurisdiction over children's matters, unlike the Local Court and the Drug Court. While acknowledging the potential legislative intent to favour trials in the Children's Court for non-serious indictable offences, the court found that the DPP had the power to file an indictment in the District Court, and that the District Court had jurisdiction to hear the charges. The court noted that the existing power to remit proceedings under section 44 of the Act was not engaged in this instance as it was framed in terms of a lack of jurisdiction.

The appeal was dismissed.