What does a complainant need before the police or prosecutor must permit inspection or copying of investigation records for an objection application?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In the practice file we read the written application for inspection or copying, which names the objection application it is made for, and any notice sent back by the judicial police officer or prosecutor where permission was withheld or granted with a limit on purpose or a condition attached, stating the reasons for that.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading treats necessity as the gate: the judicial police officer or prosecutor shall permit inspection or copying of all or part of the investigation records where that is found necessary for the objection application, and where permission is refused, or granted with a limit on purpose or a condition attached, the officer or prosecutor must notify the applicant of the reasons.
Another reading stresses the discretion the provision keeps: permission may be withheld where a case falls within the exclusions the provision cross-refers to in the Criminal Procedure Act, or where substantial reasons exist considering the circumstances of the investigation, so a file cannot assume that a necessary application ends in permission.
Your judgment
When the officer or prosecutor finds inspection unnecessary for the objection, what in the file could show that the necessity was there?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change the exclusions or the duty to notify reasons, or if a decision explains what a substantial reason for refusal must be.