Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Crimes Act 1961

Matters of justification or excuse - Insanity

23: Insanity

You could also call this:

“A rule that says people cannot be blamed for crimes if they were too unwell in their mind to understand what they were doing.”

You are considered sane when you do something or don’t do something, unless someone can prove otherwise.

You can’t be found guilty of a crime if you did something or didn’t do something because you have a mental illness or disability that makes you unable to understand what you’re doing or know that it’s wrong. This means you either can’t understand what you’re doing or its effects, or you can’t tell if it’s right or wrong based on what most people think.

If you were mentally ill before or after you did something, or if you had false beliefs about some things, this might show that you weren’t responsible for what you did or didn’t do at the time.

If you’re not found guilty because of these reasons, it doesn’t change whether other people involved in the crime are guilty or not.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM328219.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal law

22: Children between 10 and 14, or

“Children aged 10 to 13 can only be found guilty of a crime if they knew their actions were wrong or against the law.”

24: Compulsion, or

“Protection from responsibility if forced to commit a crime due to threats, with exceptions for serious offences”

Part 3 Matters of justification or excuse
Insanity

23Insanity

Every one shall be presumed to be sane at the time of doing or omitting any act until the contrary is proved.
No person shall be convicted of an offence by reason of an act done or omitted by him or her when labouring under natural imbecility or disease of the mind to such an extent as to render him or her incapable—
of understanding the nature and quality of the act or omission; or
of knowing that the act or omission was morally wrong, having regard to the commonly accepted standards of right and wrong.

Insanity before or after the time when he or she did or omitted the act, and insane delusions, though only partial, may be evidence that the offender was, at the time when he or she did or omitted the act, in such a condition of mind as to render him or her irresponsible for the act or omission.
The fact that by virtue of this section any person has not been or is not liable to be convicted of an offence shall not affect the question whether any other person who is alleged to be a party to that offence is guilty of that offence.

Compare

1908 No 32 s 43