Crimes Act 1961
Crimes Act | |
---|---|
New Zealand Parliament | |
Long title
| |
Royal assent | 1 November 1961 |
Commenced | 1 January 1962 |
Legislative history | |
Passed | 1961 |
Amended by | |
Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 Prostitution Reform Act 2003 Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007 Crimes Amendment Act (No 2) 2008 Abortion Legislation Act 2020 | |
Related legislation | |
Status: Amended |
The Crimes Act 1961 is an
The Crimes Act is administered by the
Key provisions
Punishments (Part 2)
Section 13 of the Crimes Act states that the powers of the courts under other acts will not be affected by the Crimes Act.[4] The sections relating to the death penalty and putting under bond have been repealed.[3]
Section 17 bans solitary confinement as a form of punishment.[5] Section 19 empowers the High Courts to impose fines.[6]
Matters of justification or excuse (Part 3)
Includes infancy, insanity, compulsion, ignorance of law, sentence or process, arrest, use of force, breach of the peace, defence against assault, defence of property, peaceable entry, powers of discipline, surgical procedures, and other general provisions.[3]
Sections 21 and 22 establish the
Sections 50, 169 and 170 dealt with the
Crimes against public order (Part 5)
Includes treason and other crimes against the King and the State; offence of oath to commit offence; unlawful assemblies, riots, and breaches of the peace; piracy; slave dealing; participation in criminal gang; and smuggling and trafficking in people.[3]
Section(s) of act | ANZSOC code | Offence | Maximum penalty (imprisonment) |
---|---|---|---|
73–75 | Treason – conspiracy or attempt |
Life imprisonment (mandatory) 14 years | |
77 | Mutiny | 10 years | |
78 | Espionage | 14 years | |
79 | 1559 | Sabotage | 10 years |
87 | 1313 | Riot | 2 years |
92–94 | 1559 | Piracy | 14 years |
98 | 0521 | Dealing in slaves | 14 years |
98A | Participation in organised criminal group[definition needed][further explanation needed] | 10 years | |
98C | Smuggling migrants | 20 years |
Crimes affecting the administration of law and justice (Part 6)
Includes bribery and corruption; contravention of statute; misleading justice; and escapes and rescues.[3]
Section(s) of act | ANZSOC code | Offence | Maximum penalty (imprisonment) |
---|---|---|---|
101 | Bribery of judicial officer | 7 years | |
102 | Corruption and bribery of Minister of the Crown – Ministers receiving bribes – people giving bribes |
14 years 7 years | |
103 | Corruption and bribery of Member of Parliament |
7 years | |
104 | 1542 | Corruption and bribery of law enforcement officer | 7 years |
109 | 1561 | Perjury | 7 to 14 years |
110 | 1561 | False oaths |
5 years |
111 | 1561 | False statements and declarations | 3 years |
119 | 1511 | Breaking prison | 7 years |
Crimes against morality and decency, sexual crimes, and public welfare (Part 7)
Includes crimes against religion; crimes against morality and decency; sexual crimes; sexual offences outside New Zealand; and crimes against public welfare.[3]
Section(s) of act | ANZSOC code | Offence | Maximum penalty (imprisonment) |
---|---|---|---|
128–128B | 0311 | Sexual violation[definition needed] (incl. rape) | 20 years |
129 | 0311 | Attempted[definition needed] sexual violation, assault with intent to commit sexual violation | 10 years |
130 | 0311 | Incest | 10 years |
131 | 0311 | Sexual conduct[definition needed] with dependent family member[definition needed] – sexual connection – attempted sexual connection – indecent act |
7 years 7 years 3 years |
131B | 0321 | Meeting young person[definition needed] following sexual grooming[definition needed], etc. | 7 years |
132 | 0311 | Sexual conduct with a child under 12 – sexual connection – attempted sexual connection – indecent act |
14 years 10 years 10 years |
134 | 0311 | Sexual conduct with a young person under 16 – sexual connection – attempted sexual connection – indecent act |
10 years 10 years 7 years |
135 | 0312 | Indecent assault[definition needed] | 7 years |
143 | 1325 | Bestiality |
7 years |
144A | Sexual conduct with children and young people outside New Zealand | as per sections 132 and 134 | |
144C | 0321 | Organising or promoting child sex tours[definition needed] | 7 years |
150 | Misconduct in respect to human remains (illegal exhumation, necrophilia) | 2 years |
Crimes against the person (Part 8)
Includes duties tending to the preservation of life; homicide; murder and manslaughter; abortion; assaults and injuries to the person; female genital mutilation; bigamy and feigned marriage; and abduction and kidnapping.[3]
Section(s) of act | ANZSOC Code[12] | Offence | Maximum penalty (imprisonment) |
---|---|---|---|
172 | 0111 | Murder | Life imprisonment |
173 | 0121 | Attempt to murder | 14 years |
175 | 0100 | Conspiracy to murder | 10 years |
177 | 0131 | Manslaughter | Life imprisonment |
178 | 0131 | Infanticide | 3 years |
179 | 0131 | Aiding and abetting suicide | 14 years |
182 | 0131 | Killing unborn child | 14 years |
183 | 1695 | Procuring abortion | 14 years |
188 | 0211, 0212 | Wounding with intent |
7 to 14 years |
189 | 0211, 0212 | Injuring with intent | 5 to 10 years |
189A | 0211, 0212 | Strangulation or suffocation | 7 years |
192 | 0211, 0212 | Aggravated assault |
3 years |
193 | 0211, 0212 | Assault with intent to injure | 2 years |
194 | 0211, 0212 | Assault on a child, or by a male on a female | 2 years |
194A | 0211, 0212 | Assault on person in family relationship | 2 years |
195 | 0491 | Ill-treatment or neglect of child or vulnerable adult | 10 years |
195A | 0491 | Failure to protect child or vulnerable adult | 10 years |
196 | 0213 | Common assault | 1 year |
198 | 0299 | Discharging firearm or doing dangerous act with intent | 7 to 14 years |
198A | 0211, 0212 | Using any firearm against law enforcement officer, etc. | 10 to 17 years |
198B | 0211, 0212 | Commission of crime with firearm | 10 years |
204A-204B | Female genital mutilation and ancillary offences | 7 years | |
206 | 1329 | Bigamy | 2 to 14 years |
208 | 0511 | Abduction for purposes of marriage or sexual connection | 14 years |
209 | 0511 | Kidnapping | 14 years |
Crimes against rights of property (Part 10)
Section(s) of act | ANZSOC code | Offence | Maximum penalty (imprisonment) |
---|---|---|---|
220–223 | 0811, 0813, 0821, 0823, 0829, 0991 | Theft or stealing – by persons in special relationship – of livestock and other animals – value $1001 or more – value $501 to $1000 – value up to $500 |
7 years 7 years 7 years 1 year 3 months |
226 | 0812 | Conversion of vehicle or other conveyance | 7 years |
231 | 0711 | Burglary | 10 years |
231A | 0711 | Entry onto agricultural land with intent to commit imprisonable offence | 10 years |
234 | 0612 | Robbery | 10 years |
243 | 0831 | Money laundering | 5 to 7 years |
250 | 0499 | Damaging or interfering with computer system |
7 to 10 years |
256 | 0921, 0922 | Forgery | 3 to 10 years |
266 | 0921 | Counterfeiting |
7 years |
267 | 1211 | Arson | 7 to 14 years |
Threatening, conspiring, and attempting to commit offences (Part 11)
Section(s) of act | ANZSOC code | Offence | Maximum penalty (imprisonment) |
---|---|---|---|
306 | 0532 | Threatening to kill or do grievous bodily harm | 7 years |
310 | Conspiring to commit offence (where not explicitly stated elsewhere) |
7 years or the maximum imprisonment for the crime, whichever is less | |
312 | Accessory after the fact to crime (where not explicitly stated elsewhere) – to crimes punishable by life imprisonment – to all other crimes |
7 years 5 years or half the maximum imprisonment for the crime, whichever is less |
History
Prior to the 1880s, the colony of New Zealand made few changes to the English criminal law adopted in 1840, aside from adopting the 1861 English reforms in 1867. One recommendation from the commissioners that consolidated the New Zealand statutes, prior to enactment of the Statutes Revision Act 1879 that allowed for their reprinting, was that the criminal law should be codified in a way that suited New Zealand conditions, rather than merely adopting similar legislative changes being debated in 1880 by the British Parliament. A Criminal Code bill was first drafted in 1883 and introduced into the House of Representatives in June that year.[13] However, over the next 10 years the bill's passage through the Parliament failed to achieve majority support at various stages, despite repeated introductions and initial support. The bill was finally passed at the end of September 1893 and the Criminal Code Act 1893 received royal assent on 6 October 1893.[2]
Enactment of the Consolidated Statutes Enactment Act 1908 on 4 August 1908 resulted in the Criminal Code Act 1893 being consolidated into the Crimes Act 1908. The 1908 act was further consolidated and amended with the passage of the Crimes Act 1961 on 1 November 1961.[1]
Amendments
The Crimes Act has been substantially amended since 1961:
Punishment (Part 2)
Section 14 of the Crimes Act 1961 allowed
Matters of justification or excuse (Part 3)
The Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007 abolished Section 59 of the Crimes Act, which had previously allowed parental corporal punishment of children, despite opposition from religious social conservatives and others.[16]
Crimes against morality and decency, sexual crimes, and public welfare (Part 7)
Amendments in 1985 resulted in crime of
The Crimes Amendment Act (No 3) 1985 (commenced 1 February 1986) criminalised marital rape and added the offence of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, criminalising female-on-male sexual violation and expanding sexual violation to include anal and oral intercourse.[18]
The Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 amended the Crimes Act, allowing for consensual homosexual relationships between men.[19][20]
In 1995, the Crimes Amendment Act 1995 (No 49) inserted Sections 144A, 144B, and 144C which deal with sexual offenses outside of New Zealand. Section 144A of the Crimes Act deals with New Zealand citizens and ordinary residents that commit acts of child sexual abuse in overseas jurisdictions through child sex tourism. It applies existing prohibitions against sexual connection and indecent acts with children under twelve and young people to children within overseas jurisdictions. Under Section 144C, it is also illegal to promote child sex tourism overseas from New Zealand.[21]
In 2003, the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 decriminalised sex work, removing sections 147-149A of the Crimes Act, which had formerly prohibited most forms of prostitution in New Zealand through maintaining criminal penalties against soliciting, living off the proceeds of sex work, brothel-keeping and managing sex workers.[22][23]
In 2005, the Crimes Amendment Act 2005 (commenced 20 July 2005) amended the Crimes Act 1961 to make most sexual offences gender-neutral. This closed a legal loophole which prevented adult females from being convicted of sexual offending against boys under 16.[24]
In March 2019, Parliament unanimously passed the Crimes Amendment Bill abolishing Section 123, which dealt with the offense of
Crimes against the person (Part 8)
In 1987, Section 187A of the Crimes Act was inserted, permitting abortion on the grounds of saving the mother's life, mental health, and physical health; foetal abnormality within the 20 weeks gestation period; and incest or sexual intercourse with guardians and family members.[27]
In January 1996, the Crimes Amendment Act 1995 inserted Section 20A, which outlaws female genital mutilation within New Zealand, and Section 204B, which deals with ancillary and related offences.[28][29]
In 2002, the Sentencing Act 2002 changed the penalty for murder from mandatory life imprisonment to presumptive life imprisonment; sentencing judges now may waive the mandatory life imprisonment requirement and give a lesser sentence in exceptional ("manifestly unjust") circumstances.[30]
In 2018, the Family Violence (Amendments) Act 2018 inserted new offenses relating to strangulation or suffocation (Section 189A), assault on person in a family relationship (Section 194A), coerced marriages or civil unions (Section 207A), and abductions for the purposes of marriage or civil union or sexual connection (Section 208).[31]
In March 2020, the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 replaced Sections 182A to 187A with Section 183, which states that abortion is only an offense if a person who is not a health practitioner procures or performs an abortion on a woman. The woman is not guilty of the offense.[32]
Crimes against property (Part 10)
Part 10 of the act, Crimes against the right of property, was totally rewritten in 2003. In doing so, the definition of Burglary was revised and simplified to only require entry to be unauthorised rather than also requiring an act of breaking.[36]
In 2019, the Crimes Amendment Act 2019 (No 4) introduced the concept of Burglary of agricultural land along with increasing penalties for Theft of animals, in response to increasing reports of stock rustling as well as nighttime hunting, slaughtering and butchering of farm animals in roadside fields.[37]
See also
- Abortion in New Zealand
- Capital punishment in New Zealand
- Euthanasia in New Zealand
- Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986
- Prostitution in New Zealand
- Crime in New Zealand
- Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004
- Lists of acts of the New Zealand Parliament
References
- ^ a b c d "Schedule 5: New Zealand enactments repealed". Legislation New Zealand. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ a b Finn, Jeremy (2003). "Codification of the Criminal Law: the Australasian parliamentary experience". ir.canterbury.ac.nz. University of Canterbury. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Crime Act 1961". Act of Parliament of 1 November 1961. New Zealand Parliament.
- ^ "Section 13: Powers of courts under other Acts not affected". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Section 17: No sentence of solitary confinement to be passed". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Section 19: Enforcement of fines by High Court". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Section 21: Children under 10". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Section 22: Children between 10 and 14". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Section 50: Provocation defined". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Crimes (Provocation Repeal) Amendment Act 2009". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- Act New Zealand. Scoop. 26 November 2009. Archived from the originalon 18 May 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ ABS. "1234.0 - Australian and New Zealand Standard Offence Classification (ANZSOC), 2011". abs.govt.au. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
- ^ Joint Statutes Revision Committee (7 August 1883). "Statutes Revision Commission: Report on the Criminal Code" (PDF). nzlii.org. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ "Capital punishment in New Zealand". NZHistory.govt.nz. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 5 August 2014. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Abolition of the Death Penalty Act 1989". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- New Zealand Herald. 16 May 2007. Archived from the originalon 3 November 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Section 128: Sexual violation defined". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ "Crimes Amendment Act (No 3) 1985". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Homosexual law reform in New Zealand". NZHistory.govt.nz. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 14 June 2016. Archived from the original on 22 January 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "30th anniversary of Homosexual Law Reform Act". New Zealand Parliament. 7 July 2016. Archived from the original on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Crimes Amendment Act 1995 (1995 No 49)". New Zealand Legal Information Institute. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Prostitution Reform Act 2003". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ Jordan, Jan (31 May 2018). "Sex work - Legislation and decriminalisation". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Crimes Amendment Act 2005". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Crimes Amendment Bill — Third Reading". Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ Ensor, Jamie (6 March 2019). "'Archaic' blasphemous libel law repealed in Parliament". Newshub. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Section 187 of Crimes Act 1961". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Archived from the original on 21 January 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ "Section 204A: Female genital mutilation". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ "Section 204B: Further offences relating to female genital mutilation". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Section 102: Presumption in favour of life imprisonment for murder". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Family Violence (Amendments) Act 2018". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Sections 182A to 187A replaced". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ "Assisted dying: New Zealand". New Zealand Parliament. 20 December 2018. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ Cooke, Henry (13 November 2019). "MPs vote in favour of End of Life Choice Bill at final reading". Stuff. Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ Graham-McLay, Charlotte (13 November 2019). "New Zealand to vote in referendum on euthanasia". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
- ^ "Section 231: Burglary". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ "Section 231A: Entry onto agricultural land with intent to commit imprisonable offence". New Zealand Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
Further reading
- McDowell, Morag; ISBN 0408716266.
External links
- "Crime Act 1961". Act of Parliament of 1 November 1961. New Zealand Parliament.