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Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993

Offences - Miscellaneous provisions

138: Liability of employers and principals

You could also call this:

"Employers are responsible for what their employees do with publications"

Illustration for Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993

You are an employer or a principal, and you have employees or agents who do things for you. If they do something illegal with publications, like supplying or displaying something they should not, it is like you did it too. You can say it was not your fault if you can prove you tried to stop them from doing the illegal thing. You are responsible for what your employees or agents do, even if you did not know about it. But if someone does something illegal without your permission, you are not responsible. If you are taken to court because of something your employee did, you can defend yourself by showing you tried to prevent them from doing the illegal action. If you have employees, you must try to stop them from doing things that are against the law, like supplying or displaying objectionable publications. You must take reasonable steps to prevent this from happening, or you could be in trouble too.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM314183.

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Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rightsCrime and justice > Criminal law
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137: No action to lie, or

"No legal action can be taken against someone acting in good faith."

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139: Directors and officers of bodies corporate, or

"Company bosses can be guilty too if they know about or agree to law breaking"

Part 8Offences
Miscellaneous provisions

138Liability of employers and principals

  1. In this section, the term illegal action means the supply, distribution, display, exhibition, advertisement, or making available of an objectionable publication contrary to the provisions of this Act.

  2. Subject to subsection (4), any illegal action done by a person as the employee of another person shall, for the purposes of this Act, be treated as done by that other person as well as by the first-mentioned person, whether or not it was done with that other person's knowledge or approval.

  3. Any illegal action done by a person as the agent of another person shall, for the purposes of this Act, be treated as done by that other person as well as by the first-mentioned person, unless it is done without that other person's express or implied authority, precedent or subsequent.

  4. In any proceedings (being proceedings for an offence against this Act) against any person in respect of an illegal action alleged to have been done by an employee of that person, it shall be a defence for that person to prove that he or she or it took such steps as were reasonably practicable to prevent the employee from doing that illegal action, or from doing as an employee of that person acts of a class, category, or description that includes illegal actions.

Compare
  • 1963 No 22 s 23
  • 1972 No 136 s 9
  • 1987 No 85 s 55
  • 1993 No 28 s 126