Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

Offences - Parties, accessories, and attempts

75: Parties to the commission of offences against this Act

You could also call this:

"Helping someone commit a crime makes you a part of the crime too"

Illustration for Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

You are a party to an offence if you do something to help someone commit a crime. You can be a party to an offence if you aid, abet, incite, counsel, or procure someone to commit a crime. If you help someone who is not subject to this Act to do something that would be a crime if they were subject to it, it is considered a crime for the purposes of this section. You can also be a party to an offence if you work with others to achieve an unlawful purpose and one of you commits a crime. If you are a party to an offence because you helped someone, you can be punished as if you committed the crime yourself. You can be liable to imprisonment for up to 7 years if the maximum punishment for the offence is more than 7 years. If you encourage or help someone to be a party to an offence and they are convicted, you are a party to that offence. You are also a party to any offence that someone commits because of your encouragement or help. You can conspire with your husband, wife, or civil union partner, or with them and someone else, for the purposes of this section, as stated in the Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM402787.

This page was last updated on 1 January 2026 — View changes

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal law

74: Offences against the civil law of New Zealand, or

"Breaking New Zealand's laws can lead to punishment, even if you're in the armed forces"

76: Attempts to commit offences against this Act, or

"Trying to Break the Law in the Armed Forces"

Part 2Offences
Parties, accessories, and attempts

75Parties to the commission of offences against this Act

Every person subject to this Act is a party to an offence against this Act who—
actually commits the offence; or
does or omits any act for the purpose of aiding any person to commit the offence; or
abets any person in the commission of the offence; or
incites, counsels, or procures any person to commit the offence; or
conspires with 1 or more other persons to commit the offence.

If a person subject to this Act aids, abets, incites, counsels, or procures, or conspires with, any person who is not subject to this Act to do or omit any act which would be an offence against this Act if that person were subject to this Act, the act or omission shall, for the purposes of this section, but for no other purpose, be deemed to be an offence against this Act.
Where 2 or more persons subject to this Act form a common intention to prosecute an unlawful purpose, and to assist each other in that purpose, and one of them commits an offence against this Act, the other or others of them shall be a party or parties to the offence if the offence was committed in the prosecution of the common purpose and the commission of the offence was known by the last-mentioned person or persons to be a probable consequence of the common purpose.
Every person subject to this Act who is, by virtue of paragraphs (b) to (e) of subsection (1), a party to an offence against this Act (whether or not the offence is actually committed) commits an offence, and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years if the maximum punishment for that offence exceeds 7 years’ imprisonment, and, in any other case, is liable to the same punishment as if he had actually committed the offence.
Every person subject to this Act who incites, counsels, or procures any other person subject to this Act to be a party to an offence against this Act of which that other person is afterwards convicted is a party to that offence, although it may have been committed in a way different from that which was incited, counselled, or suggested.
Every person subject to this Act who incites, counsels, or procures any other person subject to this Act to be a party to an offence against this Act is a party to every offence which that other person commits in consequence of the incitement, counselling, or procurement, and which the first-mentioned person knew to be likely to be committed in consequence thereof.
For the purposes of this section, a person is capable of conspiring with his or her husband, wife, or civil union partner, or with any of them and any other person.

Notes

Section 75(7): substituted, on 26 April 2005, by section 7 of the Relationships (Statutory References) Act 2005 (2005 No 3).