Adoption Act 1955

Miscellaneous

27C: Extraterritorial jurisdiction in respect of offence under section 27A as required by Optional Protocol

You could also call this:

"New Zealand can charge you with a crime even if it happened outside the country"

If you do something wrong under section 27A of the Adoption Act, you can be charged with a crime even if it happened outside New Zealand. This can happen if you are a New Zealand citizen, live in New Zealand, or are found in New Zealand and not sent to another country to face charges. It can also happen if you are a company set up under New Zealand law.

You can also be charged if the person affected by what you did is a New Zealand citizen or lives in New Zealand. The Optional Protocol is a set of rules that New Zealand agreed to follow, which is part of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. This means that New Zealand will follow these rules to protect children.

If you do something wrong under section 27A, you can be charged even if the wrong thing happened in New Zealand or if it is connected to something that happened in New Zealand. You can also be charged under other laws, such as section 7 or section 8 or section 8A of the Crimes Act 1961. These laws say that if you do something wrong that affects New Zealand or someone in New Zealand, you can be charged with a crime.

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This page was last updated on 1 October 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3955704.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal lawFamily and relationships > Children and parentingFamily and relationships > Adoption and guardianship

27B: Safety of child where offence committed, or

"Keeping a child safe if a crime is suspected"

27D: Attorney-General's consent required where jurisdiction claimed under section 27C, or

"The government's approval is needed to take someone to court under certain rules."

27CExtraterritorial jurisdiction in respect of offence under section 27A as required by Optional Protocol

In this section, Optional Protocol means the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations at New York on 25 May 2000.
Even if the acts alleged to constitute an offence under section 27A occurred wholly outside New Zealand, proceedings may be brought in respect of that offence—
if the person to be charged—
1. is a New Zealand citizen; or
2. is ordinarily resident in New Zealand; or
3. has been found in New Zealand and has not been extradited; or
4. is a body corporate, or a corporation sole, incorporated under the law of New Zealand; or
if the person whose consent to an adoption has been induced—
1. is a New Zealand citizen; or
2. is ordinarily resident in New Zealand.

Nothing in this section limits the application of section 27A in respect of—
acts that occurred wholly within New Zealand; or
the application of section 7 of the Crimes Act 1961 to the occurrence in New Zealand of—
1. an act forming part of an offence; or
2. an event necessary to the completion of an offence; or
the application of section 8 of the Crimes Act 1961; or
the application of section 8A of the Crimes Act 1961.

Notes

Section 27C: inserted, on 17 August 2011, by section 6 of the Adoption Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 60).