Association 10 Flashcards
Parties to offences – SA – pg34
Section 66, Crimes Act 1961
(1) Everyone is a party to and guilty of an offence who-
(a) Actually commits the offence; or
(b) Does or omits an act for the purpose of aiding any person to commit the offence; or
(c) Abets any person in the commission of the offence; or
(d) Incites, counsels, or procures any person to commit the offence
Multiple Offenders -
R v Renata
Three offenders beat the victim to death in the car park of a tavern. The prosecution was unable to establish which blow was the fatal one or which of the 3 offenders administered it.
‘The court held that where the principal offender cannot be identified, it is sufficient to prove that each individual accused must have been either the principal or a party in one of the ways contemplated in s66(1)’
Secondary Offenders - Parties to offences – MC and SA
Those who assist in the principal offender(s) either before or during the commission of an offence are considered secondary offenders and thus their liability generally lies within the scope of s66(1)(b), (c) or (d)
To be party to an offence, the acts of the secondary offender must be earlier in the time or contemporaneous with the acts of the principal offender(s). Whether the acts are contemporaneous is dependent on the circumstances of each case.
Where the act was part of the original planning, eg providing a means of escape, then the person who committed this act would be deemed to be a principal party.
However, a person cannot be convicted as a party for an offence that is already complete. In such a case they would be liable as an accessory
Actual proof of assistance is required -
Examples of assistance:
- Keeping lookout for someone committing a burglary
- Providing a screwdriver to someone interfering with a motor vehicle
- Telling an associate when a neighbor is away from their home so as to allow the opportunity to commit a burglary
Legal Duty - Parties to offences – MC
An army sergeant who watches as a subordinate assaults another person and does nothing to prevent it would be liable as a secondary party to the assault. This is because the sergeant has a power of control over the subordinate and a lawful duty to prevent such incidents and intervene.
Incites
To incite means to ‘rouse, stir up, stimulate, animate, urge or spur on a person to commit the offence.
The ingredients of the offence of accessory after the fact are:
- That the person (person A), who is received, comforted or assisted by the accessory (person B) is a party (principal or secondary party) to an offence that has been committed
- That, at the time of receiving, comforting or assisting that person (person A), the accessory (person B) knows that person (person A) was a party to the offence
- That the accessory (person B) received, comforted or assisted that person (person A) or tampered with or actively suppressed any evidence against that person (person A)
- That, at the time of the receiving, comforting or assisting etc, the accessory’s (person B) purpose was to enable that person (person A) to escape after arrest or to avoid arrest or conviction.
Spouse/civil union partner exceptions - Accessory after the fact – MC
Under S71(2), you cannot be charged with being an accessory after the fact to your spouse (legally married), or your spouse and another party (this when they work in concert). This is the same for those in a civil union, but not a de facto relationship.
Knowing any person to have been a party to an offence - Accessory after the fact – SA
‘’Knowing’’ means ‘’knowing, or correctly believing’’… the belief must be a correct one, where the belief is wrong a person cannot know something.
R v Crooks
Knowledge means actual knowledge or belief in the sense of having no real doubt that the person assisted was a party to the relevant offence. Mere suspicion of their involvement in the offence is insufficient.
