GALAMBANY COURT
A Circle Sentencing Court (the Circle), available for certain Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander offenders, commenced operation in 2004. It was originally regulated under a practice direction of the Magistrates Court, but since the commencement of the Courts Legislation Amendment Act 2011, it is known as the Galambany Court and is provided for in Chapter 4C of the Magistrates Court Act 1930.
Galambany means ‘we all, including you’ and is intended to reflect the inclusive nature of the Court. The Circle aims to:
- reduce barriers between Courts and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities;
- provide culturally relevant and effective sentencing options for indigenous offenders;
- involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the sentencing process;
- provide offenders with support services that will assist them to overcome their offending behaviour;
- enhance the rights of victims in the sentencing process; and
- reduce repeat offending.
An offender who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and who pleads guilty to an offence may be referred to the Circle for sentencing, if the offence and the offender fit the guidelines.
The Circle is presided over by a Magistrate and includes a panel of elders or respected community members. The offender, their legal representative, and a prosecutor also participate. Corrective Services attend if they have supervised the offender during the remand period. The victim is invited to participate in the Circle and can be accompanied by a witness assistant from the Office or other supporter. Having heard the facts of the offence, information about the offender, and the impact of the offence upon the victim, the panel makes recommendations to the Magistrate concerning sentencing. The Magistrate then sentences the offender, taking into account the recommendations of the panel.
Circle, by its very nature, takes a more expansive approach than conventional sentencing as a wider range of subjective factors are considered to arrive at a sentence that promotes the rehabilitation of the offender but also takes into account the expectations of the community. This process is significantly longer and more complicated than the conventional sentencing process and involves a significant amount of resources from the courts and by this Office.
CORONERS COURT
The Director’s functions include the function set out in Section 6(1)(d) of the Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1990 of “assisting a coroner in inquests and inquiries”. Although this is not a function that is exclusive to the Office, in practice, the coroner is assisted by a prosecutor from the Office in most coronial enquires.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
ANNUAL REPORT 2011-12 DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS 15
| ← Previous Page |
Next Page → |