The Queen v Whittington

The Queen appealed to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory against a decision of a trial judge who had quashed an indictment against the respondent, Mr Whittington. The prosecution concerned alleged offences under the *Police Offences Act*.

The central legal issue before the Full Court was whether the *Criminal Code* (NT) displaced the operation of s 162(1) of the *Police Administration Act*, which imposes a time limit for commencing prosecutions for offences under the *Police Offences Act*.

The Court applied the principles established in *R v Cooling* and a series of High Court authorities, including *Hamilton v Halesworth* and *Webster v Lampard*. The reasoning focused on the interpretation of the *Criminal Code Act* and its relationship with other legislation. The Court concluded that s 162(1) of the *Police Administration Act* remained applicable to prosecutions for offences under that Act, even when those offences were also dealt with under the *Criminal Code*. Consequently, the trial judge had correctly determined that the prosecution of the respondent was out of time.

The appeal was dismissed, and the trial judge's order quashing the indictment was affirmed.