Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993

Transitional provisions - Indecent Publications Act 1963

154: Proceedings pending or in train before High Court

You could also call this:

"What happens to court cases that were already underway when the new law started"

Illustration for Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993

You are dealing with a situation where some court cases were already happening under the Indecent Publications Act 1963 when the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 started. If a case was already in the High Court, it will keep going as if the new Act had not been passed. The court's decision will be treated in a certain way, as stated in section 152, and other parts of the Act, like section 13, and Parts 4 and 5, will be used to guide the process. You need to consider what happens if the High Court sends a case back to be looked at again, which would normally go to the Tribunal under the Indecent Publications Act 1963. In this situation, the case will instead go to the Classification Office, which will treat it as if it had been sent there in the first place. The Classification Office will then deal with the case according to the rules in the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. If the High Court does send a case to the Classification Office, the court case will be considered finished. This means that the court's job in that case is done, and the Classification Office will take over from there, following the rules in the Act, including what is said in section 155.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM314436.

This page was last updated on 8 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal help

153: Proceedings pending or in train before Indecent Publications Tribunal, or

"What happens to cases already with the Indecent Publications Tribunal when the new law starts"

155: Question of indecency arising in court proceedings, or

"What happens in court when someone questions if something is indecent"

Part 10Transitional provisions
Indecent Publications Act 1963

154Proceedings pending or in train before High Court

Subject to section 155, where, at the commencement of this section, any proceedings under section 19 or section 20(2) of the Indecent Publications Act 1963 are pending before the High Court, the following provisions shall apply:
the proceedings shall continue as if this Act had not been passed:
if, in the case of an appeal under section 19 of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, the High Court decides that the matter ought to be referred back to the Tribunal pursuant to section 19A of that Act, the court shall, instead of exercising that power, refer the matter to the Classification Office, and in any such case—
1. the Classification Office shall deal with the matter as if the book or sound recording to which the appeal relates had been submitted to the Classification Office under section 13, and the provisions of this Act (including Parts 4 and 5) shall apply accordingly with all necessary modifications; and
2. the proceedings before the High Court shall be deemed to be finally determined by virtue of this section:
subject to paragraph (b), section 152 shall apply in respect of the decision of the High Court as if it were a decision to which that section applied.