Crimes Act 1961

Crimes affecting the administration of law and justice - Contravention of statute

107: Contravention of statute

You could also call this:

"Breaking a law without a good reason can lead to prison time, unless the law already says what the punishment is or it's a law that doesn't make sense to punish."

Illustration for Crimes Act 1961

If you break a law without a good reason, you can go to prison for up to one year. This happens when you do something a law says you must not do, or you do not do something a law says you must do. You will not be in trouble if a law already says what punishment you will get for breaking it.

If you break a law and there is no punishment for it, you might not be in trouble. This is if the law is just about how things are done, or if it would not make sense for you to be in trouble for breaking it.

You will not be in trouble for breaking some old laws that are still part of New Zealand's laws, or for not doing something these old laws say you must do. The terms "Imperial enactment" and "Imperial subordinate legislation" are explained in section 2 of the Imperial Laws Application Act 1988.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM328788.


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Part 6Crimes affecting the administration of law and justice
Contravention of statute

107Contravention of statute

  1. Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year who, without lawful excuse, contravenes any enactment by wilfully doing any act which it forbids, or by wilfully omitting to do any act which it requires to be done, unless—

  2. some penalty or punishment is expressly provided by law in respect of such contravention as aforesaid; or
    1. in the case of any such contravention in respect of which no penalty or punishment is so provided, the act forbidden or required to be done is solely of an administrative or a ministerial or procedural nature, or it is otherwise inconsistent with the intent and object of the enactment, or with its context, that the contravention should be regarded as an offence.
      1. Nothing in subsection (1) applies to any contravention of any Imperial enactment or Imperial subordinate legislation that is part of the laws of New Zealand, or to any omission to do any act which any such Imperial enactment or Imperial subordinate legislation requires to be done.

      2. In subsection (2), the terms Imperial enactment and Imperial subordinate legislation have the meanings given to them by section 2 of the Imperial Laws Application Act 1988.

      Compare
      • 1908 No 32 s 129
      Notes
      • Section 107(2): inserted, on , by section 2 of the Crimes Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 114).
      • Section 107(3): inserted, on , by section 2 of the Crimes Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 114).