Article here. Excerpt:
'A jury in a NSW rape trial cannot be told about a complainant's alleged history of making false complaints and any change to the law would need to be made by Parliament, the Court of Criminal Appeal has said.
In a decision on Friday, a five-judge bench of the court said NSW laws protecting sexual assault complainants from being cross-examined about their sexual history also stopped evidence of prior false complaints being admitted in court.
Chief Justice Tom Bathurst said parliamentary speeches "make it clear that the purpose of the statutory prohibition is to prevent embarrassing and humiliating cross-examination about past sexual activities which it was believed was a deterrent in reporting sexual offences".
But a long line of cases ruled it also extended to alleged false complaints, and "any change to the law in this area is a matter for the legislature not for the courts", he said.'
