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Criminal Procedure Act 2011

Commencement of proceedings and preliminary steps - Filing a charging document

26: Private prosecutions

You could also call this:

"Starting a court case on your own, without the police, is called a private prosecution"

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

If you want to start a private prosecution, you need to file a charging document. The Registrar can accept the document or ask a District Court Judge for direction. The Judge might ask you to provide more information, like formal statements and exhibits, to support your case. You will need to give the Judge the evidence you plan to use at trial, or at least enough to show why you think you should have a trial. The Judge will then decide if your charging document should be accepted.

If the Judge does not think you have enough evidence, or if they think you are misusing the court process, they can tell the Registrar not to accept your charging document. In this case, the Registrar will tell you that your document will not be accepted and they will keep a copy of it. The Registrar can also refuse to accept a charging document if it is not filled out correctly. You should know that the Registrar has the power to refuse a document for this reason, and this section of the law does not change that.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3865715.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Criminal law
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25: Time for filing charging document, or

"How long police have to charge you with a crime"

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27: Power of Registrar to compile charging information, or

"The Registrar can organise charging information to make it easier to use."

Part 2Commencement of proceedings and preliminary steps
Filing a charging document

26Private prosecutions

  1. If a person who is proposing to commence a private prosecution seeks to file a charging document, the Registrar may—

  2. accept the charging document for filing; or
    1. refer the matter to a District Court Judge for a direction that the person proposing to commence the proceeding file formal statements, and the exhibits referred to in those statements, that form the evidence that the person proposes to call at trial or such part of that evidence that the person considers is sufficient to justify a trial.

      1. The Registrar must refer formal statements and exhibits that are filed in accordance with subsection (1)(b) to a District Court Judge, who must determine whether the charging document should be accepted for filing.

      2. A Judge may issue a direction that a charging document must not be accepted for filing if he or she considers that—

      3. the evidence provided by the proposed private prosecutor in accordance with subsection (1)(b) is insufficient to justify a trial; or
        1. the proposed prosecution is otherwise an abuse of process.

          1. If the Judge determines under subsection (2) that the charging document should not be accepted for filing, the Registrar must—

          2. notify the proposed private prosecutor that the charging document will not be accepted for filing; and
            1. retain a copy of the proposed charging document.

              1. Nothing in this section limits the power of a Registrar to refuse to accept a charging document for want of form.