Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

 Plain Language Law homepage
Back to
116: Conspiring to defeat justice
or “Working together to stop someone from getting a fair trial or being treated fairly by the law”
You could also call this:

“This law makes it illegal to trick or bribe people involved in court cases, like jury members or witnesses.”

You can go to prison for up to 7 years if you try to stop justice from happening. This applies to cases in New Zealand and other countries. Here are some things you’re not allowed to do:

You can’t use threats, bribes, or other dishonest ways to stop someone from giving evidence in a court case. This includes both criminal and civil cases.

You’re not allowed to use threats, bribes, or other dishonest ways to influence how a jury member behaves. This applies whether they’re already part of a jury or not.

You can’t take a bribe or any other dishonest payment to not give evidence in a court case.

If you’re a jury member, you can’t accept a bribe or any other dishonest payment for how you behave as part of the jury.

You’re not allowed to try to stop, prevent, or interfere with justice in any other way.

Remember, these rules apply to court cases in New Zealand and in other countries too.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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

Next up: 118: Assisting escape of prisoners of war or internees

or “It's against the law to help prisoners of war or people held in camps escape from where they are kept.”
Next

Part 6 Crimes affecting the administration of law and justice
Misleading justice

117Corrupting juries and witnesses

  1. Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who—

  2. dissuades or attempts to dissuade a person, by threats, bribes, or other corrupt means, from giving evidence in any cause or matter (whether civil or criminal, and whether tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction); or
    1. influences or attempts to influence, by threats or bribes or other corrupt means, a member of a jury in his or her conduct as such (whether in a cause or matter tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction, and whether the member has been sworn as a member of a particular jury or not); or
      1. accepts any bribe or other corrupt consideration to abstain from giving evidence (whether in a cause or matter tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction); or
        1. accepts any bribe or other corrupt consideration on account of his or her conduct as a member of a jury (whether in a cause or matter tried or to be tried in New Zealand or in an overseas jurisdiction, and whether the member has been sworn as a member of a particular jury or not); or
          1. wilfully attempts in any other way to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of justice in New Zealand or the course of justice in an overseas jurisdiction.

            Notes
            • Section 117: replaced, on , by section 7(1) of the Crimes Amendment Act 2002 (2002 No 20).