Royal Commissions (Amendment) Act 1990 (NSW)

ROYAL COMMISSIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT 1990 No. 58

NEW SOUTH WALES

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

1.      Short title

2.       Commencement

3. Amendment of Royal Commissions Act 1923 No. 29

4.       Transitional

SCHEDULE 1—AMENDMENTS

ROYAL COMMISSIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT 1990 No. 58

NEW SOUTH WALES

Act No. 58, 1990

An Act to amend the Royal Commissions Act 1923 with respect to
reports of royal commissions, the powers of certain commissioners who
are Queen’s Counsel and the punishment of contempt of royal
commissions; and for other purposes. [Assented to 26 September
1990]

Royal Commissions (Amendment) 1990

The Legislature of New South Wales enacts:

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Royal Commissions (Amendment)

Act 1990.

Commencement

2. This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by

proclamation.

Amendment of Royal Commissions Act 1923 No. 29

3. The Royal Commissions Act 1923 is amended as set out in

Schedule 1.

Transitional

4. (1) An amendment made by this Act extends to a commission

under the Royal Commissions Act 1923 and subsisting at the

commencement of the amendment.

(2)	Without affecting the generality of subsection (1):
(a)	letters patent may be issued under section 15 of that Act, as amended, declaring that the provisions of Division 2 of Part 2 of that Act are to have effect in relation to such a commission; and
(b)	a declaration in such letters patent may specifically state under section 17 (5) of that Act, as amended, that section 17 shall apply to and with respect to the inquiry.

(3) An amendment made by this Act does not apply to a contempt

alleged to have been committed before the commencement of the

amendment.

Royal Commissions (Amendment) 1990

SCHEDULE 1—AMENDMENTS

(Sec. 3)

(1) Section 14B:

After section 14A, insert:

Release of reports when Parliament not sitting

14B. (1) If neither House of Parliament is sitting, the Minister may present to the Clerks of both Houses a report made by a commission.

(2) When the report has been presented to and received by the Clerks:

(a)	the report is for all purposes to be taken to have been laid before each House and to be a document published by order or under the authority of each House; and
(b)	without limiting paragraph (a), the report attracts the same privileges and immunities as if it had been laid before each House and published by order or under the authority of each House; and
(c)	the report may be printed by the authority of either or both of the Clerks.

(3) Material may be omitted from such a report before its presentation to the Clerks of both Houses, on the recommendation of the commission or otherwise.

(4) The report is required to be recorded in the Minutes of Proceedings or Votes and Proceedings of the House on the first sitting day after it was presented to and received by the Clerk of the House.

(5) This section does not have effect in relation to a report of a person or body to whom some or all of the provisions of this Act are applied by other legislation enacted before the commencement of this section, unless and until the other legislation expressly provides that this section applies to the person or body.

(2) Part 2, Division 2, heading:

Omit the heading, insert instead:

Royal Commissions (Amendment) 1990

SCHEDULE 1—AMENDMENTS—continued

Division 2—Special powers

(3) Section 15 (Application of Division):

Omit section 15 (3), insert instead:

(3) The provisions of this Division shall also have effect

if:

(a)	the chairman of a commission or the sole commissioner holds an appointment as Queen's Counsel for the State of New South Wales or for any other Australian jurisdiction; and
(b)	in the letters patent by which the commission is issued, or in other letters patent under the Public Seal, the Governor declares that the provisions of this Division are to have effect in relation to the commission.

(4) In this Division:

"commissioner" means such a Judge or Queen’s

Counsel as chairman or sole commissioner.

(4) Section 17 (5):

Omit "section 15 (2)”, insert instead "section 15”.

(5) Section 18 (Powers of commissioner):

Omit section 18 (1) (d).

(6) Sections 18A-18D:

After section 18, insert:

Contempt

18A. (1) A person is guilty of contempt of a commission if the person does or omits to do anything which would, if the commission were the Supreme Court, be contempt of that Court or if the person disobeys any order or summons made or issued by the commissioner.

Royal Commissions (Amendment) 1990

SCHEDULE 1—AMENDMENTS—continued

(2) For the purposes of this Division, "offender" means a person guilty or alleged to be guilty of contempt of a commission.

Punishment of contempt

18B. (l) A contempt of a commission may be punished in accordance with this section.

(2) The commissioner may present to the Supreme Court a certificate setting out the details which the commissioner considers constitute the contempt,

(3) If the commissioner presents such a certificate to the Supreme Court:

(a)	the Supreme Court shall thereupon inquire into the alleged contempt; and
(b)	after hearing any witnesses who may be produced against or on behalf of the person charged with the contempt, and after hearing any statement that may be offered in defence, the Supreme Court (if satisfied that the person is guilty of the contempt) may punish or take steps for the punishment of the person in like manner and to the like extent as if the person had committed that contempt in or in relation to proceedings in the Supreme Court; and
(c)	the provisions of the Supreme Court Act 1970 and the rules of court of the Supreme Court shall, with any necessary adaptations, apply and extend accordingly.

(4) Such a certificate is prima facie evidence of the matters certified.

(5) Neither liability to be punished nor punishment under this section for contempt consisting of failure to attend before the commission as a witness in obedience to a summons excuses the offender from such attendance, and the commissioner may enforce attendance by warrant under section 16 or by exercise of any other available power.

Royal Commissions (Amendment) 1990

SCHEDULE 1—AMENDMENTS—continued

(6) A contempt of a commission may not be punished by

a commissioner under section 18.

General provisions regarding contempt

18C. (1) In the case of any alleged contempt of a

commission, the commissioner may summon the offender
to appear before the commission at a time and place
named in the summons to show cause why the offender
should not be dealt with under section 1 8 B for the

contempt.

(2) If the offender fails to attend before the commission

in obedience to the summons, and no reasonable

explanation to the satisfaction of the commissioner is

offered for the failure, the commissioner may, o n proof of the service of the summons, issue a warrant to arrest the

offender and bring the offender before the commissioner

to show cause why the offender should not b e dealt with
under section 18B for the contempt.

(3) If a contempt of the commission is committed in the face o r hearing of the commission, no summons need be issued against the offender, but the offender may be taken into custody then and there by a police officer and called upon to show cause why the offender should not be dealt with under section 18B for the contempt.

(4) The commissioner may issue a warrant to arrest the offender while the offender (whether o r not already in custody under this section) is before the commission and to bring the offender forthwith before the Supreme Court.

(5) The warrant is sufficient authority to detain the offender in a prison o r elsewhere, pending the offender’s being brought before the Supreme Court.

(6) The warrant is to be accompanied by the certificate in which the commissioner sets out the details of the alleged contempt.

(7) The commissioner	may revoke the warrant a t any
time before the offender	is brought before the Supreme

Court.
Royal Commissions (Amendment) 1990

SCHEDULE 1—AMENDMENTS—continued

(8) When the offender is brought before the Supreme Court, the Court may, pending determination of the matter, direct that the offender be kept in such custody as the Court may determine o r direct that the offender be released.

Act or omission that is both an offence and contempt

18D. ( 1 ) An act o r omission may be punished as a contempt of a commission even though it could be punished as a n offence.

(2) An act o r omission may be punished as a n offence even though it could be punished as a contempt of a commission.

(3) If a n act o r omission constitutes both a n offence and a contempt of a commission, the offender is not liable to be punished twice.

[Minister's second reading speech made in–

Legislative Assembly on 5 September 1990 Legislative Council on 18 September 1990]

BY AUTHORITY
R MILLIGAN, ACTING GOVERNMENT PRINTER—1990