Diehm v Director of Public Prosecutions (Nauru)

Criminal law – Practice and procedure – Duties of prosecutor – Duty of prosecutor to call all material witnesses – Appellants convicted of rape – Only one of two police officers who attended scene called to give evidence – Whether failure of prosecutor to call second officer occasioned miscarriage of justice.

Criminal law – Practice and procedure – Statutory power and duty of trial judge to call witness of own motion – Scope of duty – Whether evidence of uncalled witness "essential to the just decision of the case".

Criminal law – Evidence – Depositions – Statement of uncalled witness not in evidence – Trial judge referred to statement to determine effect of failure to call witness – Whether reference to statement occasioned breach of natural justice.

Words and phrases – "essential to the just decision of the case", "fair trial", "material witness", "miscarriage of justice".

Criminal Code (Q) – ss 7, 348.

Criminal Procedure Act 1972 (Nauru) – ss 100(1), 188.

Laws Repeal and Adopting Ordinance 1922 (Nauru) – s 12.