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Criminal Procedure Act 2011

General provisions - Public access and restrictions on reporting - Suppression of names

204: Automatic suppression of identity of child complainants and witnesses

You could also call this:

"Protecting the identity of young people in court cases"

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

If you are under 18 years old and you are a complainant or a witness in a court case, the court protects your identity. This means nobody can publish your name, address, or what you do, unless the court says it is okay. You are protected like this because you are young. The court wants to keep you safe.

If something bad happens to you because of a crime, and you die, then people can talk about who you are. The court can still tell people who the person is that did something wrong, and what they did. This is so people know what is happening in the case.

When you turn 18, you can ask the court if you can let people know who you are. The court will say yes if you understand what this means, and if it will not hurt the case. The court will also check if talking about you will reveal who the person is that did something wrong, and if that person has asked to keep their identity secret, as explained in section 200.

If the court says you can reveal your identity, but then the person who did something wrong asks to keep their identity secret, the court might change its mind. This means you might not be able to let people know who you are after all, if the court decides to keep the other person's identity secret, using section 200 again.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3360352.

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203: Automatic suppression of identity of complainant in specified sexual cases, or

"Protecting the person who reports a serious sexual offence by keeping their identity secret"

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205: Court may suppress evidence and submissions, or

"Court can keep some information secret to protect people or fairness"

Part 5General provisions
Public access and restrictions on reporting: Suppression of names

204Automatic suppression of identity of child complainants and witnesses

  1. Unless the court, by order, permits publication, no person may publish the name, address, or occupation of a person who is under the age of 18 years who—

  2. is the complainant; or
    1. is called as a witness in any proceeding in respect of an offence.

      1. Despite subsection (1), the name, address, or occupation of a child who dies as a result of the offence may be published.

      2. Nothing in subsection (1) prevents publication of the name of the defendant or the nature of the charge.

      3. The court must make an order permitting any person to publish the name, address, or occupation of a complainant or witness, if—

      4. the complainant or witness, having reached the age of 18 years, applies to the court for such an order; and
        1. the court is satisfied that the complainant or witness understands the nature and effect of his or her decision to apply to the court for the order; and
          1. in any case where publication of the identity of the complainant or witness may lead to the identification of the person who is charged with or convicted of the offence, no order or further order has been made under section 200 prohibiting publication of the identity of that person.

            1. An order made under subsection (4) ceases to have effect if—

            2. publication of the identity of the complainant or witness may lead to the identification of the person who is charged with or convicted of the offence; and
              1. that person applies to a court for an order or further order under section 200 prohibiting publication of his or her identity; and
                1. the court makes the order or further order under section 200.

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