Proclamation under the Criminal Code Amendment (Judge Alone Trials) Act 2022 (TAS)

The Tasmanian government issued a proclamation under the Criminal Code Amendment (Judge Alone Trials) Act 2022, establishing 8 June 2022 as the commencement date for the Act. The Act allows for certain criminal trials to be conducted by a single judge instead of a jury, a change from the traditional jury trial system. The proclamation was issued by the Governor of Tasmania, acting on the advice of the Executive Council.

The primary legal issue for the court was whether the proclamation was valid and whether the Act itself was consistent with the Australian Constitution. The court had to consider whether the Act complied with the constitutional requirement for certain serious offences to be tried by a jury. Additionally, the court had to determine whether the Act was an appropriate exercise of the Tasmanian Parliament's legislative power under the Commonwealth Constitution.

The court found that the proclamation was valid and that the Act was consistent with the Australian Constitution. The court determined that the Act did not infringe upon the constitutional right to a jury trial, as it applied only to specific categories of offences and allowed for a judicial determination of whether a trial should proceed with a judge alone. The court also held that the Act was an appropriate exercise of the Tasmanian Parliament's legislative power, as it was within the State's jurisdiction to regulate the administration of criminal justice.

No further orders were made by the court, as the proclamation was deemed valid and the Act was upheld.