Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Crimes Act 1961

Crimes against the person - Duties tending to the preservation of life

156: Duty of persons in charge of dangerous things

You could also call this:

“People must be careful with things that could hurt others if not handled safely.”

If you have control over anything that could be dangerous to people’s lives, you must be careful. This includes things that are alive or not alive, and things you build, make, or use. You need to take sensible steps to keep people safe from any danger these things might cause. If you don’t take these steps and someone gets hurt, you could be in trouble with the law. This is because you have a legal duty to be careful and avoid putting people in danger.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM329297.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
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155: Duty of persons doing dangerous acts, or

“If you do something dangerous, even if it's legal, you must be careful and know what you're doing.”

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157: Duty to avoid omissions dangerous to life, or

“You must do things you promised to do if not doing them could put someone's life in danger.”

Part 8 Crimes against the person
Duties tending to the preservation of life

156Duty of persons in charge of dangerous things

  1. Every one who has in his or her charge or under his or her control anything whatever, whether animate or inanimate, or who erects, makes, operates, or maintains anything whatever, which, in the absence of precaution or care, may endanger human life is under a legal duty to take reasonable precautions against and to use reasonable care to avoid such danger, and is criminally responsible for the consequences of omitting without lawful excuse to discharge that duty.

Compare
  • 1908 No 32 s 171