Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual

• While the Law Council supports the Bill’s prohibition on questions relating to a vulnerable person’s sexual reputation, the court should not be restricted to only granting leave to adduce evidence with substantial probative value relating to sexual activity that: - took place with the defendant in the proceedings; and - occurred or was recent at the time of the commission of the alleged offence. [...] The Bill seeks to implement recommendations 52, 53, 56 and 61 of the 2017 Final Report of the Royal Commission in relation to protections for vulnerable persons involved in Commonwealth criminal proceedings.3 The Bill also intends to advance Theme 2 of the First National Action Plan of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021–2030, and support the Standing Council of. [...] In some instances, the Law Council is concerned that the proposed amendments to the special protections may be weighted too greatly in favour of the complainant, at the expense of the right of the accused to a fair trial. [...] Crimes Amendment (Strengthening the Criminal Justice Response to Sexual Violence) Bill 2024 12 Recommendation • The court should be permitted to grant a party leave to adduce evidence of sexual experience beyond evidence relating to sexual activity that: - took place with the defendant in the proceedings; and - occurred or was recent at the time of the commission of the alleged offence; provided t. [...] In recognition of the above, the Law Council suggests that consideration should be given to expanding proposed section 15YDB(2) to require courts, when considering whether to order an evidence-recording hearing, to also take into account: • the undesirability of fragmenting the proceeding, and • any additional legal costs to the defendant that would be likely to result from the pre-recording of th.