Report on the Operation of the

War Crimes Act 1945

to 30 June 2013

Attorney-General’s Department


ISBN: 978-1-925118-09-4

© Commonwealth of Australia 2014

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MINISTER’S INTRODUCTION

______

I am pleased to present the report on the operation of the War Crimes Act 1945 for the period ending 30 June 2013.

No prosecutions for offences against the Act were commenced during the reporting period.

GEORGE BRANDIS QC

Attorney-General

REPORT REQUIRED BY SECTION 21 OF THE WAR CRIMES

ACT 1945 ON THE OPERATION OF THE ACT DURING THE YEAR

ENDING 30 JUNE 2013

Australia is strongly committed to addressing war crimes and takes allegations of warcrimes very seriously. The Criminal Code Act 1995, GenevaConventions Act 1957 and Crimes(Hostages) Act1989 target potential war crimes and crimes against humanity in the modern era. However, theWarCrimesAct1945 (the Act) was enacted specifically to enable the prosecution of Australian citizens or residents who are known to have committed war crimes in Europe during the Second World War.

Section 21 of the Act requires the Attorney-General to, as soon as practicable after 30June in each year, cause a report about the operation of the Act during the year ending on 30 June to be prepared and cause a copy of the report to be tabled before Parliament within 15 sitting days after the report is prepared.

Number of suspected offences against the Act under investigation during
the reporting period

The Australian Federal Police has not received any referrals of alleged warcrimes during the reporting period.

COMMONWEALTH DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

Number of Prosecutions Commenced

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) did not commence any prosecutions under theAct during the period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013.

Resources of the CDPP allocated to War Crime Prosecutions

Nil.

AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) did not receive any referrals of war crimes relevant to the Act during the period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013.

Resources of the AFP allocated to War Crime Investigations

Nil.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY THE LEGAL ASSISTANCE BRANCH [ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT]

Financial Assistance Expenditure

There was no financial assistance expenditure under the Act during the period

1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013.

Resources of the Legal Assistance Branch applied for the purposes of the
defence

Nil.

EXTRADITION SECTION

[ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT]

Hungarian extradition request

In March 2005, the Hungarian Government made an extradition request to Australia for a person alleged to have committed a war crime in Budapest in 1944.

In the 2009–10 reporting period, the Minister for Home Affairs and Justice, theHonBrendanO’Connor MP, determined under section 22 of the Extradition Act 1988 that the person should be surrendered to Hungary to face prosecution for a war crime offence. The person then filed an application in the Federal Court challenging the lawfulness of the Minister’s surrender determination in judicial review proceedings.

In the 2010-11 reporting period, the Federal Court of Australia determined that the Minister’s determination was unlawful and on 10 December 2010 made orders setting aside the determination. On 4 January 2011, an appeal was filed on behalf of the Commonwealth against the Federal Court’s orders. The appeal was heard by the FullFederal Court on 16and 17 May 2011.

In the 2011-12 reporting period, the Full Federal Court upheld the Commonwealth’s appeal in part. The Commonwealth appealed the Full Federal Court’s decision to the High Court.

In this reporting period, the HighCourt dismissed the Commonwealth’s appeal, upholding the Full Federal Court’s interpretation of an ‘extraditable offence’. The effect of the High Court’s decision was that the person would not be surrendered to Hungary. Accordingly, the Minister for Justice ordered the person’s release.

MUTUAL ASSISTANCE SECTION

[ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT]

Australia did not receive any mutual assistance requests concerning war crimes committed during the Second World War in the 2012–13 reporting period.