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Search and Surveillance Act 2012

Preservation directions relating to foreign investigations or proceedings - Interpretation

88A: Interpretation

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"What special words mean in this law"

Illustration for Search and Surveillance Act 2012

When you read this part of the law, some words have special meanings. The Central Authority is what it means in the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992, which you can find at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM273063. A document is what it means in subpart 2 of Part 3. You need to know what a foreign country is, which is also defined in the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992, found at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM273063. A foreign enforcement authority is an agency or person that does jobs in another country similar to what the New Zealand Police do, as outlined in section 9 of the Policing Act 2008, which you can find at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1102187. The law of a foreign country includes laws from parts of that country. A preservation direction is an order made under this part of the law. A related mutual assistance request is when someone asks for help to get documents, as outlined in section 43 of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992, found at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1524134. A serious offence is a crime that can be punished with two years or more in prison. When you see a reference to a foreign country where a foreign enforcement authority is, it means the country where that authority works, doing jobs similar to the New Zealand Police, as outlined in section 9 of the Policing Act 2008, which you can find at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1102187. A related mutual assistance request is in progress if certain conditions are met, such as the foreign authority planning to ask for help or already asking for it. A term called offence of a political character does not include certain crimes, like those that are part of a treaty that New Zealand has agreed to, as outlined in section 2 of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992, found at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM273063. If a word is not defined in this part of the law but is defined in subpart 2A of Part 3, it has the same meaning as in that subpart.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1528168.

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"When you're arrested, police can search you without permission if they think you have something dangerous or wrong."

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88B: Constable to apply for preservation direction requested by foreign enforcement authority, or

"Police must ask to keep documents safe to help another country investigate a serious crime"

Part 3APreservation directions relating to foreign investigations or proceedings
Interpretation

88AInterpretation

  1. In this Part,—

    Central Authority has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992

      document has the same meaning as in subpart 2 of Part 3

        foreign country has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992

          foreign enforcement authority means a person or an agency that is empowered to perform functions in a foreign country that correspond, wholly or partly, to any of the functions of the New Zealand Police set out in section 9 of the Policing Act 2008

            law of a foreign country includes the law of a part of, or the law in force in part of, the foreign country

              preservation direction means a preservation direction made under this Part

                related mutual assistance request, in relation to an application for a preservation direction or for renewal of a preservation direction against a person, means a request under section 43 of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992 for assistance in obtaining documents to which the application relates under a production order against the person

                  serious offence means an offence that is punishable by a term of imprisonment of 2 years or more.

                  1. In this Part, a reference to the foreign country in which a foreign enforcement authority is located is a reference to the foreign country in which that authority is empowered to perform functions that correspond, wholly or partly, to any of the functions of the New Zealand Police set out in section 9 of the Policing Act 2008.

                  2. In this Part, a related mutual assistance request, in relation to an application for a preservation direction or for renewal of a preservation direction against a person, is in progress only if,—

                  3. in the case of an application for a preservation direction, one of the following applies:
                    1. the foreign enforcement authority requesting the preservation direction intends to request or recommend that the Central Authority for the foreign country in which the foreign enforcement authority is located make the related mutual assistance request; or
                      1. the foreign enforcement authority has requested or recommended that the Central Authority make the related mutual assistance request and the foreign enforcement authority’s request or recommendation has not been rejected; or
                        1. the Central Authority intends to make or has made the related mutual assistance request; and
                        2. in the case of an application for renewal of a preservation direction,—
                          1. the foreign enforcement authority requesting the renewal has requested or recommended that the Central Authority for the foreign country in which the foreign enforcement authority is located make the related mutual assistance request and the foreign enforcement authority’s request or recommendation has not been rejected; or
                            1. the Central Authority intends to make or has made the related mutual assistance request; and
                            2. one of the following applies:
                              1. the Attorney-General has not yet granted or refused the request:
                                1. the Attorney-General has granted the request, but a Judge has not yet granted or refused an application made under section 45 of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992 for a production order against the person in respect of those documents.

                                2. In this Part, a reference to an offence of a political character does not include—

                                3. an offence—
                                  1. that is constituted by conduct of a kind referred to in a multilateral treaty to which New Zealand is a party; and
                                    1. for which parties have an obligation to provide to one another assistance in criminal matters (within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992); or
                                    2. any offence in relation to which New Zealand has agreed in writing with another country that the offence will not be treated as a political offence for the purposes of the provision of assistance in criminal matters between New Zealand and that country.

                                      1. A term or an expression used in this Part that is not defined in this Part but is defined in subpart 2A of Part 3 has the same meaning as in that subpart.

                                      Notes
                                      • Section 88A: inserted, on , by section 20 of the Budapest Convention and Related Matters Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 39).