Victorian Current Acts Victorian Current Acts(1) At an investigation into the fitness of an accused to stand trial, the court—
(a) must hear any relevant evidence and submissions put to the court by the prosecution and the defence; and
(b) if of the opinion that it is in the interests of justice to do so, may—
(i) call evidence on its own motion; or
(ii) require the accused to undergo an examination by a registered medical practitioner or registered psychologist; or
(iii) require the results of any such examination to be put before the court.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) prevents the application of Part 3.10 of the Evidence Act 2008 to an investigation and, for the purposes of Part 3.10 of that Act, the investigation is taken to be a criminal proceeding.
(3) Section 232A of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 applies to an investigation as if the investigation were a trial.
(4) If the court finds that the accused is not fit to stand trial, the court must—
(a) determine, by reference to any relevant evidence and on the balance of probabilities, whether or not the accused is likely to become fit to stand trial within the next 12 months; and
(b) if the court determines that the accused is likely to become fit within the next 12 months, specify the period by the end of which the accused is likely to be fit to stand trial.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), the court may call further evidence on its own motion.
S. 14E inserted by No. 11/2021 s. 122.