Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992

Requests to New Zealand - Preliminary provisions - Preliminary provisions

25A: Ad hoc requests for assistance

You could also call this:

"Asking another country for help with a crime"

Illustration for Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1992

You can ask a foreign country for help with a crime. The Attorney-General looks at some things to decide if they should help. They think about if the country will help New Zealand in return, how serious the crime is, and what the purpose of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act is, as stated in section 4. You want to know what happens next. If the Attorney-General says yes, they can help the foreign country. They consider things like if the country will help New Zealand back. The Attorney-General also thinks about other important things. They can still follow other rules, like section 27 or sections 29 to 62. The Attorney-General makes the decision. They decide if they should help the foreign country or not.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

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=DLM274401.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Police and safetyGovernment and voting > Government departments
Previous

25: Requests to be made to Attorney-General, or

"Asking for help with a crime: send the request to the Attorney-General"

Next

26: Form of request, or

"How a foreign country asks New Zealand for help with a crime"

Part 3Requests to New Zealand
Preliminary provisions: Preliminary provisions

25AAd hoc requests for assistance

  1. This section applies where a foreign country requests assistance under this Part and that country—

  2. is not a prescribed foreign country or a convention country; or
    1. is a prescribed foreign country but the request is not made in that capacity; or
      1. is a convention country but the request is not made in that capacity.

        1. If a foreign country requests assistance under this Part, the Attorney-General must consider the following matters in order to decide whether the request should be dealt with under this Part:

        2. any assurances given by that country that it will entertain a similar request by New Zealand for assistance in criminal matters:
          1. the seriousness of the offence to which the request relates:
            1. the object of this Act as specified in section 4:
              1. any other matters that the Attorney-General considers relevant.

                1. If, after considering those matters, the Attorney-General decides that the request should be dealt with under this Part, the Attorney-General may deal with that request accordingly.

                2. Nothing in subsection (2) limits section 27 or sections 29 to 62.

                Notes
                • Section 25A: inserted, on , by section 4 of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Amendment Act 1998 (1998 No 15).