Joint submission has recommendations about prosecutorial consent, family violence
In a joint submission to the inquiry into the Magistrates Court (Indicative Sentencing) Amendment Bill 2025, the ACT Law Society and the ACT Bar Association commended the ACT government for leading progress in indicative sentencing reforms.
In a media release, the law society noted that it has long supported introducing an indicative sentencing framework in the ACT.
The joint submission of the organisations acknowledged the potential of reforms to promote accountability, encourage early guilty pleas, relieve emotional burden, decrease court delays, and improve the overall efficiency of the criminal justice system.
However, the joint submission pointed out that some parts of the legislation’s current version might limit its benefits and result in needless complexity and unfairness.
The ACT-based organisations recommended that the legislature:
The joint submission explained that the lack of a provision allowing such withdrawal in that situation may undermine the scheme by securing a plea based on a ‘false premise.’
The ACT Law Society and the ACT Bar Association developed the joint submission with contributions from both of their criminal law committees. The organisations expressed gratitude to the committees’ members for their insights.
The organisations shared that they planned to maintain their advocacy for preserving judicial discretion to affirm the separation of powers and promote proportional sentencing.
“We’re committed to keeping members informed about our policy and advocacy work,” the law society said in its media release.
The law society thanked the bar association for partnering with it to prepare the joint submission, which is available on the ACT Legislative Assembly’s inquiry page.
