R v Alqudsi

[2015] NSWSC 2132

Supreme Court

New South Wales

• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:	R v Alqudsi [2015] NSWSC 2132
Hearing dates:	28 August 2015
Decision date:	28 August 2015
Jurisdiction:	Common Law
Before:	Adamson J
Decision:	1. Vacate the trial date of 21 September 2015 and stand this matter over to the arraignments list before Johnson J on 11 September 2015.  2. Direct the accused, by email to the Associate of the arraignments list judge, to confirm on or before 4 September 2015 whether he presses the matter relating to the certificate required for prosecution which is in d(ii) of the defence response to the Crown Case Statement.
Catchwords:	PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - application for adjournment
Legislation Cited:	Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act 1978 (Cth), s 7(1)(e)
Category:	Principal judgment
Parties:	Regina (Crown) Hamdi Alqudsi (Accused)
Representation:	Counsel: D Staehli SC/J English (Crown) I Barker QC/M Fozzard (Accused)   Solicitors: Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown) Zali Burrows Lawyers (Accused)
File Number(s):	2013/363649

Judgment (ex tempore)

1. An application has been made by Mr Barker of Queen's Counsel on behalf of the accused, Mr Alqudsi, which is consented to by the Crown, that the trial which is to commence on 21 September 2015 be adjourned for some period. Mr Barker gives three reasons in support of the application for adjournment.

2. First, he and his junior, Mr Fozzard, have only recently been briefed by Mr Alqudsi in the matter. They have not had an opportunity yet to acquaint themselves with the detail of the matter or, indeed, the defence response which was filed last Wednesday. Because of Mr Barker's other commitments he is not available for the trial of this matter if it were listed in the balance of this year.

3. Secondly, the accused has been notified that the interpreter on whom the Crown previously relied for some interpretation of Arabic into English is no longer available and that the Crown is in the course of currently having transcripts prepared of the portion of the transcripts of telephone intercepts and messages which are in Arabic. I am told the total transcripts amount to some 2,000 pages of which a small proportion is in Arabic and the balance is in English. Mr Crown informs me that the completed bundle of transcripts will be served next week.

4. The third matter on which Mr Barker relies is that he has received instructions to appeal against the judgment I delivered yesterday that s 7(1)(e) of the Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act 1978 is constitutional. He anticipates that a notice of appeal against my decision in the criminal proceedings and the declaratory proceedings will be filed at some stage during next week.

5. I do not regard the matters of legal representation as determinative, or even significant. I am, however, persuaded as a result of what Mr Barker and Mr Crown have said, that it is important in the interests of justice that the accused have sufficient time to adjudge what parts of the transcript he will contest and with what parts he will agree as representing an accurate version of the transcript.

6. As to whether the appeal process ought disrupt the criminal trial, that is for others to judge.

7. The next arraignments list is on 11 September 2015. Having regard to the inevitable disruption of the trial date, it is probably preferable at this stage that I adjourn the matter back to the next arraignments list which is to be held on 11 September 2015 so that the resources of this Court can best be used as determined by the arraignments judge, who is Johnson J.

8. Accordingly, I make the following orders and directions:

1. Vacate the trial date of 21 September 2015 and stand this matter over to the arraignments list before Johnson J on 11 September 2015.

2. Direct the accused, by email to the Associate of the arraignments list judge, to confirm on or before 4 September 2015 whether he presses the matter relating to the certificate required for prosecution which is in d(ii) of the defence response to the Crown Case Statement.

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Amendments

17 May 2023 - Publication restriction removed – judgment republished

Decision last updated: 17 May 2023