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Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992

Requests by New Zealand - Assistance in obtaining things

20: Assistance in obtaining thing

You could also call this:

"Getting help from another country to find something related to a New Zealand crime"

Illustration for Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992

You can ask a foreign country to help get something if you think it is in that country. The thing must be relevant to a crime in New Zealand. You can ask for help to search and seize the thing, but only if the crime is serious enough to be punished with two years or more in prison.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM274068.

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19: Assistance in serving documents, or

"Asking another country to help deliver important papers for a crime investigation"

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20A: Assistance in obtaining information by means of surveillance device, or

"Help from overseas to gather information using spy devices for serious crimes"

Part 2Requests by New Zealand
Assistance in obtaining things

20Assistance in obtaining thing

  1. The Attorney-General may request a foreign country to assist in obtaining or accessing a thing, by search and seizure if necessary, if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the thing—

  2. is in the foreign country or, if it is an intangible thing (for example, computer data or a computer program), is under the control of a person who is present in the foreign country; and
    1. is relevant to a criminal matter in respect of an offence against the law of New Zealand.

      1. The Attorney-General may request assistance in obtaining the thing by search and seizure only if the offence is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 2 years or more.

      Notes
      • Section 20: replaced, on , by section 31 of the Budapest Convention and Related Matters Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 39).