Noel Ashby perjury case on brink of collapse

THE perjury case against former Victoria Police assistant commissioner Noel Ashby is on the brink of collapse on a legal technicality.

THE perjury case against former Victoria Police assistant commissioner Noel Ashby is on the brink of collapse on a legal technicality.

Supreme Court judge Robert Osborn found this morning that the oath taken by Mr Ashby in the Office of Police Integrity hearings - where he is accused of lying - was invalid.

The decision is a significant blow for the OPI and prosecutors asked the judge for some time to consider his ruling before coming back to court on Tuesday.

It comes after similar charges were withdrawn against former police union boss Paul Mullet.

Mr Ashby, 52, had pleaded not guilty yesterday to 11 counts of perjury relating to evidence he gave at hearings held by the OPI in 2007.

Philip Priest QC, for Mr Ashby, told the Supreme Court at a hearing earlier in the week that retired judge Murray Wilcox, who presided at the OPI hearings, was not empowered to administer an oath.

He said Mr Wilcox was not lawfully delegated by then OPI director George Brouwer as a ``relevant person'' under the act to conduct the hearings under oath.

He said Mr Brouwer delegated his powers to Mr Wilcox on September 24, 2007, but it was not until the following day that Mr Wilcox made the affirmation.

Because Mr Wilcox's affirmation was not made before Mr Brouwer delegated his powers to him, the delegation was unlawful and Mr Wilcox was not legally empowered to conduct the OPI hearings or swear in Mr Ashby, Mr Priest said. ``Because he is not a `relevant person', he had no power to administer the oath and therefore the oath was unlawful.

``Each of the counts of perjury relate to evidence given before Mr Wilcox.''

Justice Osborn said that in his view Mr Brouwer failed to follow usual practice set up in the legislation and therefore the ``hearing was not conducted before a competent tribunal of law’’.

``The answers were given under the circumstances where the delegate did not have the authority to examine Mr Ashby on oath,’’ he said.

Mr Ashby's six-week perjury trial was due to start this week. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years prison.