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Takeovers Act 1993

Investigation and enforcement - Offences - General offences

44A: Conviction of offence under section 44 excluded in certain cases

You could also call this:

"When you might not be guilty of breaking a rule under section 44"

Illustration for Takeovers Act 1993

You cannot be found guilty of an offence under section 44 if the court thinks the rule was broken in a way that does not matter to the case. You also cannot be found guilty if the court thinks the rule was broken, but it was reasonable to make the mistake. The court will decide if the mistake was reasonable by looking at all the circumstances of the case. If you are a director of a company, you cannot be found guilty of an offence under section 44 if the company broke the rule without you knowing or agreeing to it. The court will look at what happened and decide if you should be found guilty. If you are accused of breaking the rules under section 44, you have to prove that you did not break the rules on purpose or that it was a reasonable mistake. You have to show the court that you are not guilty of the offence.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM326386.

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Part 3Investigation and enforcement
Offences: General offences

44AConviction of offence under section 44 excluded in certain cases

  1. A person must not be convicted of an offence under section 44 if, in the opinion of the court dealing with the case,—

  2. the contravention related to matters that were immaterial to the relevant matter before the Panel; or
    1. the contravention ought reasonably to be excused, having regard to all the circumstances of the case.

      1. A director of a body corporate must not be convicted of an offence under section 44 in relation to a contravention by the body corporate if, in the opinion of the court dealing with the case, the contravention took place without the director's knowledge and consent.

      2. In proceedings for an offence against section 44, the burden of proving any of the matters described in subsections (1) and (2) lies on the defendant.

      Notes
      • Section 44A: inserted, on , by section 24 of the Takeovers Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 48).
      • Section 44A(3): inserted, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).