R v IL

The appeal by the Crown against the acquittal of the respondent, IL, on charges of murder and manslaughter was heard by the Court of Criminal Appeal. The respondent had been acquitted by a jury at the direction of the trial judge in a trial for the manufacture of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, which led to the death of another person. The Crown argued that the trial judge had erred in directing the jury to acquit the respondent of the murder and manslaughter charges.

The court was required to determine whether the trial judge erred in law by applying an incorrect test when considering whether a prima facie case of murder and manslaughter had been established. The court also needed to consider whether the act that caused the death was "malicious" as required by section 18(2)(a) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). The court had to examine the principles of joint criminal enterprise and whether the respondent's liability for the death was derivative or not.

The court found that the trial judge had erred in law by applying an incorrect test when determining whether a prima facie case of murder and manslaughter had been established. The court held that the principles of joint criminal enterprise were applicable to the foundational crime of manufacturing a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and that the respondent's liability for the death was not derivative. The court found that the ignition of the ring burner, which caused the death, was within the enterprise and was an act taken in pursuit of the drug manufacturing offence. The court held that the act was unlawful and dangerous and that the respondent's participation in the drug manufacturing offence was within the contemplation of the respondent. The court quashed the acquittal of the murder and manslaughter charges.

The court ordered that the matter be remitted to the Supreme Court for a new trial on the charges of murder and manslaughter.