1 What has been the effect of the Forfeiture Act 1991 (ACT) on the application and operation of the forfeiture rule in the Australian Capital Territory?
12 Should issues about the effect of the forfeiture rule on the property and benefits that the killer would otherwise have derived on the death of the victim be addressed by amending the existing legislation under which the property of a deceased person is distributed?
13 Should Victoria introduce legislation, like that in the United Kingdom, Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales, that empowers a court to modify the effect of the forfeiture rule?
(a) Who should be able to apply for the rule to be modified?
(b) What should be the time limit for making an application?
(c) What principles, if any, governing the court’s discretion should be stated in the legislation?
(d) What guidance should the court be given in exercising its discretion?
(e) Which property and other interests should be able to be affected by the order?
15 Should Victoria codify the common law rule of forfeiture?
(a) How should it allow for exceptions, such as where the code would normally be applied but in view of the circumstances of the killing it would not be justified?
(b) How should it provide for the code to be applied to a person who has not been prosecuted, or was found not guilty because of mental impairment?
(c) How should it accommodate changes in circumstances, such as where a crime is resolved many years after the event, or a person’s conviction is overturned?
(d) What other matters should be addressed in a codified rule (and how)?