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Civil Aviation Act 1990

Unruly passenger offences - Preliminary provisions

65C: Liability for offences under Summary Offences Act 1981 despite extraterritoriality

You could also call this:

“You can be punished for certain bad behaviour on planes, even if it happens outside New Zealand”

You can be held responsible for certain offences even if you commit them on an aircraft outside of New Zealand. If you do something on a plane that would be against the law in New Zealand, you can still be punished as if you did it in New Zealand. This applies to actions like disorderly behaviour, fighting, assault, damaging property, or exposing yourself indecently.

It’s important to know that even if you’re on a plane, it’s treated like a public place. This means that behaviours like being disorderly, fighting, or exposing yourself indecently on an aircraft are treated the same as if you did these things in a public place in New Zealand.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM217109.

Topics:
Transport and travel > Air travel Crime and justice > Criminal law
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65B: Liability for offences against this Part despite extraterritoriality, or

"You can get in trouble for breaking aviation rules even when you're not in New Zealand"

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65D: Foreign aircraft outside New Zealand, or

"Rules for dealing with bad behaviour on foreign planes outside New Zealand"

Part 5A Unruly passenger offences
Preliminary provisions

65CLiability for offences under Summary Offences Act 1981 despite extraterritoriality

  1. Any person who commits an act or omission on an aircraft in flight outside New Zealand that would, if it occurred in New Zealand, be an offence against sections 3 (disorderly behaviour), 7 (fighting in public place), 9 (common assault), 11 (wilful damage), or 27 (indecent exposure) of the Summary Offences Act 1981, is liable under that Act as if the act or omission had occurred in New Zealand.

  2. To avoid doubt, any person who commits an act or omission on an aircraft that would be an offence against sections 3 (disorderly behaviour), 7 (fighting in public place), or 27 (indecent exposure) of the Summary Offences Act 1981 is liable under that Act as if the reference to public place in any of those provisions includes an aircraft.

Notes
  • Section 65C: inserted, on , by section 28 of the Civil Aviation Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 8).