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Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

Offences - Offences involving guard duty, violence, and insubordination

36: Insubordinate behaviour

You could also call this:

"Disrespecting someone in charge of you in the armed forces"

Illustration for Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

You can commit an offence if you use bad language to a superior officer. You can go to prison for up to 2 years if you use threatening, insubordinate, or insulting language. You can also commit an offence if you behave with contempt towards a superior officer. You might have a defence if you can prove you did not know the person was your superior officer. You must prove you had no reason to believe they were in charge of you. This defence can help you in court if you are charged with an offence. If you behave badly towards a superior officer, you can get in trouble. You need to respect people in charge of you. You must follow the rules and behave properly.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM402709.

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35: Violence to a superior officer, or

"Hitting or being violent to someone in charge of you in the armed forces is against the law."

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Part 2Offences
Offences involving guard duty, violence, and insubordination

36Insubordinate behaviour

  1. Every person subject to this Act commits an offence, and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, who—

  2. uses threatening language to his superior officer; or
    1. uses insubordinate language to his superior officer; or
      1. uses insulting language to his superior officer; or
        1. in the presence of his superior officer, behaves with contempt towards him.

          1. In any proceedings in respect of a charge for an offence against subsection (1), it is a defence to the charge if the accused proves that he neither knew nor had reasonable cause to believe that the person against whom the offence was alleged to have been committed was his superior officer.