R v Nguyen

The matter before the court was an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (Victoria) to reopen a ruling under section 592A of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic). The applicant sought to reopen the ruling made on 27 September 2000, which had been made in the context of proceedings against three defendants for their involvement in the murder of a person. The court was required to determine whether it had jurisdiction to grant leave to reopen the ruling under the specified section and, if so, whether there were special reasons to justify reopening the ruling.

The court found that it had jurisdiction to grant leave to reopen the ruling under section 592A, and that the trial had not yet commenced at the time the application was made. The court further found that the giving of a plea constituted the commencement of the trial, and that the applicant had demonstrated special reasons to justify reopening the ruling. The court found that the further evidence provided by the applicant constituted a special reason to grant leave to reopen the ruling.

As a result, the court granted leave to the Director to reopen the ruling made on 27 September 2000, and set aside that ruling. The court did not make any further orders.