Crimes Act 1961

Crimes affecting the administration of law and justice - Bribery and corruption

100: Judicial corruption

You could also call this:

"Corrupt court staff can go to prison for taking bribes to do their job unfairly."

If you are a judicial officer, you can go to prison for up to 14 years if you accept a bribe for doing something in your job. This includes doing something or not doing something because someone gave you money or something else of value. You can also get in trouble if you try to get a bribe or offer to accept one. If you work in a court, like a Registrar or Deputy Registrar, you can go to prison for up to 7 years if you accept a bribe for doing something in your job that is not related to being a judge. You will get in trouble if you take a bribe or try to take one, even if it is for someone else, and you do something or do not do something because of the bribe.

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This page was last updated on 4 August 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM328743.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Courts and legal help

99: Interpretation, or

"What special words mean in this law"

101: Bribery of judicial officer, etc, or

"Giving bribes to court officials to influence their decisions is a crime"

Part 6Crimes affecting the administration of law and justice
Bribery and corruption

100Judicial corruption

Every judicial officer is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years who corruptly accepts or obtains, or agrees or offers to accept or attempts to obtain, any bribe for himself or herself or any other person in respect of any act done or omitted, or to be done or omitted, by him or her in his or her judicial capacity.
Every judicial officer, and every Registrar or Deputy Registrar of any court, is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who corruptly accepts or obtains, or agrees or offers to accept or attempts to obtain, any bribe for himself or herself or any other person in respect of any act done or omitted, or to be done or omitted, by him or her in his or her official capacity, not being an act or omission to which subsection (1) applies.

Compare

1908 No 32 ss 126(a), 127(a)