1. The Inquiry proposes to sit from Monday to Friday of each week. Usual hearing hours will be from 10:00 am to 1:00pm, and from 2:00pm to 4:00pm. The hearing room will be at Level 5, 55 Market Street, Sydney. Hearings will commence on Monday 16 January 2006.
2. The Inquiry’s proceedings will be as orderly and expeditious as possible. The Inquiry will endeavour to ensure that those who may be adversely affected by the evidence are treated fairly, while protecting confidentiality where that is appropriate.
3. The Inquiry accepts no obligation to notify persons with authorisation to appear or other interested parties of the times and places of its hearings. Details of the public hearings arranged from time to time may be obtained from the Inquiry’s Executive Officer or its Media Liaison Officer, or from the Inquiry’s website at www.oilforfoodinquiry.gov.au.
However, a person who, in the opinion of Counsel Assisting, may be substantially and directly interested in evidence to be produced to the Inquiry at a hearing will, if practicable, be notified prior to that hearing of the fact that it is proposed to produce the evidence to the Inquiry.
4. Subject to the control of the Commissioner, Counsel Assisting will determine what witnesses are called, what documents are tendered to the Inquiry, and in what order they will call and examine witnesses.
5. The details of evidence to be produced to the Inquiry will not be published in advance of the hearing at which it is produced and generally will not be opened before it is called.
AUTHORISATION TO APPEAR BEFORE THE INQUIRY
6. Persons may be authorised to appear before the Inquiry. That authorisation may be withdrawn by the Inquiry, or made subject to altered or additional limitations or conditions at any time.
7. Such authorisation to appear entitles the person to whom it is granted to participate in the proceedings of the Inquiry, subject to the Inquiry’s control and to such extent as the Inquiry considers appropriate. In particular, the Inquiry may:
(a) limit the particular topics or issues upon which the person may examine and cross examine;
(b) impose time limits upon examination and cross examination;
(c) require that submissions be presented in writing only.
8. Counsel for all persons given authorisation to appear shall give advance notice of any legal issues which they propose to raise. Counsel Assisting will likewise advise other counsel if it appears to them that questions of law may arise in particular situations.
APPLICATION FOR WITNESSES TO APPEAR BEFORE THE INQUIRY
9. All witnesses will be called by Counsel Assisting. Any person wishing to have evidence of a witness or witnesses placed before the Inquiry is to notify Senior Counsel Assisting of the names of all such witnesses and provide a signed statement of their expected evidence, if possible in the form of a statutory declaration. Counsel Assisting or Inquiry staff may interview such witnesses and take further statements from such witnesses if considered necessary. It is not necessary that any such interviews or the obtaining of such additional statements occur in the presence of the person, or legal representatives thereof, who sought to have the evidence of such witnesses placed before the Inquiry. The orderly conduct of the Inquiry will be greatly facilitated if this evidence is made available without delay.
10. Application may be made directly to the Commissioner to call witnesses or place documentary material before the Inquiry only in the following circumstances:
(a) application has been made to Senior Counsel Assisting to call such witness or tender such documents which applicat
i on has been refused;
(b) thereafter, the applicant has given to Senior Counsel Assisting written notice of the reasons why such w
itnesses’ evidence or documentary material should be placed before the Inquiry;
(c) either:
(i) Senior Counsel Assisting has reaffirmed his decision not to place the evidence before the Inquiry; or
(ii) two working days have passed since the notice referred to in (b) has been received by the Inquiry without response from Senior Counsel Assisting.
11. Where a witness has been introduced to the Inquiry by a person authorised to appear before the Inquiry, an attempt will be made to give that person reasonable advance notice of the calling of that witness.
EXAMINATION AND CROSS EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES
12. Any witness who is legally represented who has been examined (including cross examined) by Counsel Assisting may next be examined by his or her own legal representative and then cross examined by or on behalf of any person considered by the Inquiry to have sufficient interest in so doing. The witness’s own legal representative and finally Counsel Assisting may re-examine. At all times, duplication and repetition is to be avoided.
13. A copy of any document proposed to be put to a witness in any examination or cross examination must be provided to Counsel Assisting the Inquiry as soon as possible after a decision is made to use the document for this purpose, and in all cases prior to its intended use.
CONFIDENTIALITY
14. Procedures will be implemented by the Inquiry to ensure that confidentiality is maintained with respect to the identity of persons who assist the Inquiry, and the information and documents which they provide, insofar as this is appropriate and consistent with the discharge of the Inquiry’s functions. Any person who feels particular concern in this area may communicate his or her concern directly to Counsel Assisting for determination.
15. The Inquiry will so far as possible conduct hearings in public. However, the names and identifying details of informants and witnesses who show a legitimate need for protection will not be made public, unless the publication of such evidence is needed for some other sufficient reason, such as to alert potential sources of significant information to the possibility that they can assist the Inquiry. Evidence which suggests that the person who has otherwise been identified, whether or not as a witness, has acted as an informant will not be made public.
16. In respect of all oral and documentary evidence, the following practices will apply until vacated or varied either generally or in respect of evidence or categories of evidence:
(a) the testimony of any witness given in public session or documents tendered before the Inquiry may be published unless an order is made prohibiting the publication of particular evidence;
(b) no person may take or obtain a copy of any book, document or writing tendered in evidence before the Inquiry except by leave, and then only subject to the condition that it not be used or be permitted to be used except for the purpose of appearance before the Inquiry. Any application for leave to obtain a copy of an exhibit should be made in writing to the Solicitor Assisting.
(c) any person or the legal representative for that person having been authorised to appear before the Inquiry may inspect and take extracts from any book, document or writing tendered in evidence for the purpose only of appearance before the Inquiry.
(d) for the purpose of and to the extent necessary for the public reporting of the proceedings of the Inquiry, any authorised media representative may inspect and take extracts from any book, document or writing tendered in evidence after it has been notified as available for inspection by Counsel Assisting, subject to the conditions that:
(i) it not be used or permitted to be used for any purpose other th
a n the public reporting of the proceedings of the Inquiry; and
(ii) any part of the contents thereof indicated by Counsel Assis
ting as unsuitable for publication not be published without the leave of the Inquiry, which can be sought if, for example, there is a restriction which is believed to obstruct proper reporting of any matter of significance. Any application for leave should be made in writing, in the first instance, to the Solicitor Assisting via the Media Relations officer of the Inquiry.
ADDRESSING THE INQUIRY AND SUBMISSIONS
17. At the conclusion of the evidence, it will be decided who will have the right to address the Inquiry, on what issues and in what order and whether by way of written submissions or otherwise. The present intention is that submissions of Counsel Assisting will be presented 2 weeks after the conclusion of oral evidence, with responsive submissions of other parties being received one week thereafter. Any person who receives a notice of possible adverse finding will be given one week to respond in writing to such notice.
VARIATIONS OF PRACTICES
18. The Inquiry reserves the right at any time to vary the above practices.
