NSW Act Makes Disrespectful Behaviour In Courtrooms An Offence
Monday 20 June 2016 @ 10.38 a.m. | Judiciary, Legal Profession & Procedure | Legal Research
A new New South Wales Act will make it an offence to engage in “disrespectful behavior” in courtrooms. The Courts Legislation Amendment (Disrespectful Behaviour) Act 2016 passed Parliament on June 1 and was assented on June 7. New South Wales Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton flagged the changes in December 2015, following an incident in Parramatta District Court where a man on trial for attempted murder “repeatedly refused” to stand. At the time, Ms Upton told ABC News:
"Not standing in court is simply unacceptable… Current laws do not reflect my concerns nor the widespread community's concern about the level of respect that must be shown to the judiciary, court officers and the wider justice system by people who appear in court."
In her second reading speech, Attorney-General Upton said the new offence was designed to operate where there is disrespect that falls short of the existing “contempt of court” threshold:
“In December 2015, I announced that the New South Wales Government would introduce a bill into Parliament in 2016 to bridge this gap between contempt and the community expectations of respectful behaviour in our courts. The common law of criminal contempt already addresses behaviour that is disruptive to the court. In contrast, the new offence will address disrespectful behaviour that is contrary to established court practices and convention. This new offence adds to the range of tools available to judges and magistrates to enable them to effectively manage their courtrooms. It does not detract from any measure available to those judicial officers that is currently available.”
Disrespectful behavior provisions
The Act inserts new provisions regarding disrespectful behavior into the Supreme Court Act 1970, the Land and Environment Court Act 1979, the District Court Act 1973, the Local Court Act 2007 and the Coroners Act 2009.
Under the new provisions:
“A person is guilty of an offence against this section if:
(a) the person is an accused person or defendant in, or a party to, proceedings before the Court or has been called to give evidence in proceedings before the Court, and
(b) the person intentionally engages in behaviour in the Court during the proceedings, and
(c) that behaviour is disrespectful to the Court or the Judge presiding over the proceedings (according to established court practice and convention).
Maximum penalty: 14 days imprisonment or 10 penalty units, or both.”
Proceedings against a person for committing an offence under the new provisions will be dealt with summarily, and can be brought within 12 months after the date of the alleged offence. Proceedings will need to be commenced by a person or class of persons authorized to do so by the Secretary of the Department of Justice, and must be authorized by the Attorney-General.
Judges may refer disrespectful behavior in proceedings over which they are presiding to the Attorney-General, but may not give evidence in any resulting proceedings.
The new provisions also prevent a person from being charged with contempt and disrespectful behavior if it occurs “in respect of essentially the same behavior”.
In her second reading speech, Attorney-General Upton noted that the new provisions were not meant to replace current tools used by magistrates and judges to maintain order, such as ejecting a person from the courtroom:
“Often the best response to disrespectful behaviour is a practical one, and the community must not lose sight of the fact that the primary purpose of our courts is to finalise the cases before them in a just, fair and expeditious manner.”
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Sources:
Courts Legislation Amendment (Disrespectful Behaviour) Act 2016, Bill and Second Reading Speech - available from TimeBase's LawOne Service
