WA Criminal Charges and Arrest Warrant Expiry?

[nelly90]

A friend of mine was charged on several criminal charges by WA court and he is currently in overseas and as she is unable to return as her parent sick then the court issued Arrest Warrant. Is there any expiry for the arrest warrant? 10 years? 15 years?

 

[John R]

To my knowledge, Western Australia does not have an expiry on arrest warrants.

From section 177 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2014 (WA):

177. Warrants, effect of and procedure on (1) An arrest warrant for a person issued by a court — (a) remains in effect until the person concerned is brought before the court under the warrant or appears voluntarily in the court, whichever happens first; and (b) is itself sufficient authority to any person to whom it is directed to act according to it.

If your friend intends to return to Western Australia (or Australia, in general), they should consider contacting and retaining a reputable criminal lawyer from their current location at their earliest opportunity to resolve this matter.

 

[nelly90]

If she returned to WA, will she be caught at the airport or she can go to the nearest police station? Will take affect her entry?