Versi v The Queen

The appeal concerned the conviction of the appellant, Mr. Versi, for the offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The prosecution alleged that Mr. Versi had assaulted a police officer during an arrest. The appeal was heard by Kiefel and Keane JJ of the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the trial judge had erred in law by failing to adequately direct the jury on the defence of lawful justification for the use of force by the appellant in resisting arrest. Specifically, the court considered whether the jury should have been instructed that they could acquit Mr. Versi if they found that the force used by the police officer was excessive and therefore unlawful, and that Mr. Versi's actions were a reasonable response to that unlawful force.

Their Honours observed that the common law permits a person to resist an unlawful arrest, and that the degree of force that may be lawfully used in such resistance is limited to what is reasonably necessary in the circumstances. They held that where the lawfulness of an arrest is in issue, and the accused relies on the unlawleness of the arrest as a defence to a charge of assaulting an officer, the jury must be instructed on the principles governing the use of force in resisting unlawful arrest. The trial judge's directions in this instance were found to be insufficient in that regard, as they did not adequately explain to the jury the circumstances in which the use of force against a police officer could be justified.

The High Court allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction, and remitted the matter to the Supreme Court of New South Wales for a retrial.