2Certificate may be granted

#### 2 Certificate may be granted 2 Certificate may be granted > > (1) The Court or Judge in any proceedings relating to any offence, whether punishable summarily or upon indictment, may— > > > > > (a) where, after the commencement of a trial in the proceedings, a defendant is acquitted or discharged in relation to the offence concerned, or a direction is given by the Director of Public Prosecutions that no further proceedings be taken, or > > > > > (b) where, on appeal, the conviction of the defendant is quashed and— > > > > > > > (i) the defendant is discharged as to the indictment upon which he or she was convicted, or > > > > > > > (ii) the information or complaint upon which the defendant was convicted is dismissed, > > > > grant to that defendant a certificate under this Act, specifying the matters referred to in section 3 and relating to those proceedings. > > > (2) For the avoidance of doubt, a certificate may be granted in accordance with subsection (1) (a) following an acquittal or discharge of a defendant at any time during a trial, whether a hearing on the merits of the proceedings has occurred or not. > > > (3) In this section, trial, in relation to proceedings, includes a special hearing conducted under the [Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2020-012) and also includes preliminary proceedings that form part of the trial, for example, a voir dire. > > **s 2:** Am 2001 No 85, Sch 1 \[1\] \[2\]; 2001 No 121, Sch 2.67 \[1\]; 2002 No 99, Sch 4.2; 2004 No 11, Sch 3; 2008 No 79, Sch 3.3; 2020 No 12, Sch 3.6; 2025 No 61, Sch 2.21\[1\].