"31 A 'simple offence' is one which is punishable on summary conviction and, somewhat circuitously, a "summary conviction" is one for a simple offence (s 4 of the Justices Act). The procedure, in the case of simple offences, is provided for by Pt VI of the Justices Act.
32 An 'indictable offence' is one 'which may be prosecuted before the Supreme Court, or other court having jurisdiction in that behalf, by information in the name of the Attorney General or other authorised officer' (s 4 of the Justices Act). Until 21 May 2004 that expression was defined in s 1 of the Criminal Code to mean 'an offence a complaint of which is, unless otherwise expressly stated by the Code, triable only by a jury'. However, this last definition was repealed by the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2004.
33 By virtue of s 3(2) of the Code (introduced by the 2004 amendment), an indictable offence is triable only on indictment unless the Code or another written law expressly provides otherwise (cf the former provisions of s 4 of the Criminal Code Act 1913). An indictment is "a written charge preferred against an accused person in order to his [sic] trial before some court other than justices exercising summary jurisdiction" (s 1 of the Code).
34 There is, in various parts of the Code, provision for particular indictable offences to be punished summarily (see, for example, s 426 and s 427). If a person is convicted by a Court of Petty Sessions of an indictable offence, the conviction is to be regarded as having been one of a simple offence only (s 3 of the Code). That situation aside, the general scheme of the Code distinguishes between simple and indictable offences: cf Gorman v Indich [1990] WAR 131 at 132, per Kennedy J, and 137, per Franklyn J.
35 By s 571 of the Code, the 'jurisdiction of courts of justice with respect to the trial of offenders is set forth in the laws relating to the constitution and jurisdiction of those courts respectively'. In the case of the Supreme Court, the relevant provision is s 16 of the Supreme Court Act 1935. In the case of the District Court (in which the appellant was tried) the relevant provision is s 42(1) of the District Court of Western Australia Act 1969. That section provides that, except as provided in s 42(2) (which excludes from the jurisdiction of the District Court offences carrying a maximum term of life imprisonment or strict security life imprisonment), the Court has all the jurisdiction and powers that the Supreme Court has 'in respect of any indictable offence' (my italics). So far as Courts of Petty Sessions are concerned, provision is made by s 20(1) of the Justices Act for the summary determination of offences made punishable on summary conviction and also of any offence, act or omission not declared to be treason, felony, a crime or a misdemeanour and in respect of which no other provision is made for the trial of the offender. By s 4 of the Criminal Code Act, as it stood in 2003, no person is liable to be tried or punished in Western Australia for an indictable offence except under the express provisions of the Code or some other applicable statute. That section has since been amended by the 2004 amending legislation so as to delete the word 'indictable'.
36 Subject to what I have said below, concerning s 602A of the Code, it seems to me to be plain enough from the legislative scheme that simple offences are intended to be tried summarily, in Courts of Petty Sessions, save for those specific instances in which provision has been made for superior courts to deal with simple offences. So, for example, by virtue of s 32(1) of the Sentencing Act 1995, an offender who is to be sentenced by a superior court for an offence may request that court to deal also with any pending charges against that offender and, by virtue of s 32(4), for the purposes of s 32 'a superior court is to be taken to have jurisdiction to deal with simple offences'. Another example is provided for by s 594 of the Code, which provides that: