Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Crimes Act 1961

Matters of justification or excuse - Surgical operations

61: Surgical operations

You could also call this:

“This law protects doctors from getting in trouble when they do surgery to help someone, as long as they are careful and the surgery makes sense for the patient.”

You are protected from being charged with a crime if you perform a surgical operation on someone. This protection applies if you do the operation with reasonable care and skill. The operation must be for the benefit of the person you’re operating on. It also needs to be reasonable when you think about the patient’s condition at the time and all the other things happening in that situation. This means that if you’re careful and do your best when performing surgery to help someone, you won’t get in trouble with the law.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM328297.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
Health and wellbeing > Healthcare services
Previous

60: Discipline on ship or aircraft, or

“Rules about using force to keep people behaving well on ships and planes”

Next

61A: Further provisions relating to surgical operations, or

“This section explains when doctors can legally perform surgery without getting in trouble.”

Part 3 Matters of justification or excuse
Surgical operations

61Surgical operations

  1. Every one is protected from criminal responsibility for performing with reasonable care and skill any surgical operation upon any person for his or her benefit, if the performance of the operation was reasonable, having regard to the patient's state at the time and to all the circumstances of the case.

Compare
  • 1908 No 32 s 86(1)