Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Crimes Act 1961

Miscellaneous provisions

406: Prerogative of mercy

You could also call this:

“The special power to forgive or reduce punishments for crimes”

The law you’re asking about is called ‘Prerogative of mercy’. It was part of the Crimes Act 1961 in New Zealand. However, this part of the law no longer exists. It was removed on 1 July 2020. This means that the rules it contained are no longer in effect. The government decided to take it out of the law books. If you want to know more about why this happened, you might need to look at the Criminal Cases Review Commission Act 2019. This new act changed some of the old rules.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM332183.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
Previous

405: Civil remedy not suspended, or

“You can still take legal action even if someone broke the law”

Next

406A: Appeals against decisions made on references, or

“This law explained how people could challenge decisions made about their cases if they thought something wasn't fair.”

Part 14 Miscellaneous provisions

406Prerogative of mercy (Repealed)

    Notes
    • Section 406: repealed, on , by section 54 of the Criminal Cases Review Commission Act 2019 (2019 No 66).