成人大片

Recommendations could give courts discretionary powers in how they apply the law of forfeiture especially in cases where a victim of domestic abuse kills in self-defence.

The independent South Australian Law Reform Institute (SALRI) based at the Adelaide Law School, 成人大片 has released a major that stops an unlawful killer profiting or inheriting as a result of their crime.

鈥淎t present the forfeiture rule is inflexible and applies to any murder or manslaughter regardless of individual circumstances or the killer鈥檚 culpability,鈥� says Director of SALRI, the 成人大片鈥檚 Professor John Williams.

鈥淲hile the premise of the law is sound in that an unlawful killer should ordinarily not benefit from their crime, we examined the scope of the rule and its practical implications and found that the existing law is uncertain, overly strict and needs more flexibility. Whether it applies should depend on the circumstances of the crime committed, especially where a death is the result of domestic violence.

鈥淲hile the law of forfeiture must remain in place, there are situations where a more just approach is needed, as applying the law without regard for the circumstances of the crime may have unfair implications, such as in cases of domestic violence, suicide pacts, infanticide and euthanasia."Dr David Plater, SALRI Deputy Director.

鈥淭he forfeiture rule should continue to be clearly applied in South Australia to murder, all forms of manslaughter, causing the death of a child or vulnerable adult by criminal neglect, assisted suicide and the offence of causing death by culpable or dangerous driving.

鈥淐hanges to the law, which dates back to 1892, are needed as at times it has unfair consequences and can be unnecessarily harsh. It also requires clarifying in key areas.鈥�

The Attorney-General, the Hon. Vickie Chapman commissioned SALRI鈥檚 report which makes 67 recommendations including that South Australia introduce a standalone Forfeiture Act as the preferred vehicle for reform.

鈥淪ALRI鈥檚 major review of the state鈥檚 forfeiture law is timely as previous cases have highlighted that there are problems with its scope and application. In particular, the strict application of the forfeiture rule has resulted in unfair outcomes,鈥� says the Hon. Vicki Chapman.

Under the recommended Forfeiture Act, the court would have the discretion to modify how the law is applied in some cases of unlawful killings, where a court finds that it is in the interests of justice to do so and there are 鈥榚xceptional鈥� circumstances. The killer and other interested parties would apply for a forfeiture modification order.

鈥淲hile the law of forfeiture must remain in place, there are situations where a more just approach is needed, as applying the law without regard for the circumstances of the crime may have unfair implications, such as in cases of domestic violence, suicide pacts, infanticide and euthanasia,鈥� says Dr David Plater, SALRI Deputy Director.

鈥淓specially in domestic violence cases, where a person kills an abusive partner after prolonged abuse, the law should be changed so that the victim of domestic violence can apply to a court for an order to modify the way that the law applies. If a court makes that order, this will then allow the victim of domestic violence to receive their deceased partner鈥檚 estate and other assets including jointly owned assets, superannuation and insurance proceeds.

鈥淭he law should be flexible enough to take into account other circumstances such as where a person is convicted of an unlawful killing in relation to euthanasia or 鈥榤ercy killing鈥� cases, or if the offender has diminished responsibility.

鈥淚n cases where a person survives a suicide pact or in cases of assisted suicide or infanticide, there also needs to be greater acknowledgement of these circumstances when applying the law.鈥�

The 成人大片鈥檚 Dr Sylvia Villios led the project which found that the law needs clarification in a number of areas.

鈥淭he forfeiture rule is unclear as to which assets are subject to the law of forfeiture and as to how the assets of the deceased will be dealt with in those cases where the law applies,鈥� said Dr Villios.

鈥淭he law also needs clarifying as to who can be an executor or administrator of the deceased person鈥檚 estate. SALRI鈥檚 report recommends that the Forfeiture Act should provide that the killer of the deceased person is disqualified from acting in these roles.鈥�

Under the current law, the 鈥榮ins of the unlawful killer are visited upon the blameless children鈥� who are precluded from receiving any of the victim鈥檚 estate. SALRI recommends that under the proposed Forfeiture Act, the killer should be deemed to have predeceased the victim, which would mean that the children of the killer are able to benefit from the victim鈥檚 estate and other assets.

Another major issue raised during SALRI鈥檚 consultation was how to protect the estate of the deceased victim from dissipation by the unlawful killer after the murder or manslaughter charges have been laid up until the time of conviction.

鈥淭here are a number of cases involving killers who have drained bank accounts held jointly with the deceased victim after charges had been laid,鈥� says Dr Villios.

鈥淲e recommend that a victim鈥檚 assets should be protected to ensure that the killer does not have access to them until the matter has been resolved and after a court has considered whether the forfeiture rule applies, and whether a modification order should be made.鈥�

SALRI鈥檚 review benefited from the views of experts, interested parties and the community. The report鈥檚 authors included Dr Villios, Dr Plater, Olivia Jay (former Law Reform student), Terry Evans (Law Society member of SALRI鈥檚 Advisory Board)) and Emily Ireland (Law School PhD student). SALRI is grateful for their input. 聽聽

Following the release of SALRI鈥檚 report by the Attorney-General, it will be for the South Australian Government and Parliament to consider the recommendations, and to decide whether or not to accept them.