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Sentencing Act 2002

Sentencing purposes and principles, and provisions of general application - Sentencing procedure

31: General requirement to give reasons

You could also call this:

"The judge must explain their decisions in court."

Illustration for Sentencing Act 2002

When you go to court, the judge must explain why they make certain decisions. They have to tell you why they chose a particular sentence or way of dealing with the offender. They also have to explain why they made an order under Part 2.

The judge can give as much or as little detail as they think is necessary for the case. They might not give a lot of reasons, or they might give a lot. It depends on the particular case.

If the judge does not mention a particular principle or factor when giving their reasons, it is not automatically a reason to appeal the decision. The judge's decision might still be okay, even if they did not talk about everything. You can still look at section 8, section 9, section 10, or section 11 to understand what the judge should consider when making a decision.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM135592.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Criminal law
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Part 1Sentencing purposes and principles, and provisions of general application
Sentencing procedure

31General requirement to give reasons

  1. A court must give reasons in open court—

  2. for the imposition of a sentence or for any other means of dealing with the offender; and
    1. for the making of an order under Part 2.

      1. The reasons may be given under this section with whatever level of particularity is appropriate to the particular case.

      2. Nothing in this section limits any other provision of this or any other enactment that requires a court to give reasons.

      3. The fact that a court, in giving reasons in a particular case, does not mention a particular principle in section 8 or a particular factor in section 9 or a consideration under section 10 or section 11 is not in itself grounds for an appeal against a sentence imposed or an order made in that case.