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Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

Offences - Offences involving guard duty, violence, and insubordination

39: Failure to comply with written orders

You could also call this:

"Not following rules you know about or should know about"

Illustration for Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

You can commit an offence if you do not follow a lawful order that you know about or could have known about with reasonable effort. This includes orders from the Defence Force or general orders for your unit or ship. You can be imprisoned for up to 2 years if you fail to comply with these orders.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM402713.

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38: Disobeying a lawful command, or

"Breaking a lawful order from a superior officer is against the law"

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40: Failure to comply with directions given by the captain of a ship or aircraft, or

"Not following the captain's orders on a ship or aircraft"

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

39Failure to comply with written orders

  1. Every person subject to this Act commits an offence, and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, who fails to comply with a lawful order of which he has knowledge or of which he could, with reasonable diligence, have had knowledge—

  2. being a Defence Force Order; or
    1. being a general, standing, daily, or routine order made for any service, force, command, formation, or corps, or any ship or defence area, or any unit, detachment, or other part of the Armed Forces.

      Notes
      • Section 39(a): amended, on , by section 105(1) of the Defence Act 1990 (1990 No 28).