What is the difference between convictions in prosecutions under the POEO Act, or the results of civil proceedings?
Criminal prosecutions can be brought when a person is alleged to have committed an offence created by legislation such as the POEO Act. These must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. The penalties that result from criminal convictions are punitive: a fine or gaol sentence can only be ordered in a criminal matter. The parties to criminal proceedings are called the Prosecutor and the Defendant(s). Civil proceedings can involve other members of society i.e. to commence civil proceedings one does not have to be a government authority. A person might begin civil proceedings to appeal licence conditions or to recover the costs of the clean-up of a spill. The EPA can also bring civil proceedings to obtain orders that a person comply with or to repair environmental harm they caused.
