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Crimes Act 1961

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

101: Bribery of judicial officer, etc

You could also call this:

“Giving money or gifts to try to change how a judge or court worker decides things is against the law.”

If you give or offer a bribe to someone to try to influence a judge in their work, you can go to prison for up to 7 years. This applies to any act or decision the judge might make in their role as a judge.

The same punishment applies if you give or offer a bribe to influence other people who work in courts, like registrars or deputy registrars. This is about trying to affect what they do in their official jobs, but it doesn’t include trying to influence judges, which is covered in the first part.

It’s important to know that it doesn’t matter if the person actually accepts the bribe or not. Just offering or agreeing to give a bribe is enough to get you in trouble with the law.

Remember, bribing people who work in the courts is a serious crime in New Zealand, and the law treats it very seriously.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM328744.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
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100: Judicial corruption, or

“It's against the law for judges and court workers to take money or gifts to do their job unfairly.”

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102: Corruption and bribery of Minister of the Crown, or

“It's against the law for someone to give or receive money or favours to make a government leader do something wrong.”

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

101Bribery of judicial officer, etc

  1. Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who corruptly gives or offers or agrees to give any bribe to any person with intent to influence any judicial officer in respect of any act or omission by him or her in his or her judicial capacity.

  2. Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who corruptly gives or offers or agrees to give any bribe to any person with intent to influence any judicial officer or any Registrar or Deputy Registrar of any court in respect of any act or omission 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(b), 127(b)
Notes
  • Section 101(2): amended, on , by section 4 of the Crimes (Bribery of Foreign Public Officials) Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 28).