Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

Investigation and summary trial of charges - Miscellaneous matters - Referral of charges

117ZIA: Director to determine whether offence is specified offence

You could also call this:

"The Director decides if a crime is serious enough to have special rules."

Illustration for Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

You are involved in a charge that is sent to the Director of Military Prosecutions. The Director must decide if the alleged offence has a victim and if it is a specified offence. The Director's decision affects whether certain rules, like Part 10A and section 102A(3)(b), apply. You need to know what a specified offence and a victim are. These terms are defined in section 198B. The Director uses these definitions to make their decision. The Director's decision is important because it determines which rules to follow. If the Director decides an offence is not a specified offence, certain rules do not apply. You can find more information about specified offences and victims in section 198B.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS147432.

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

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Police and safety

117ZI: Director of Military Prosecutions may lay charge before Court Martial, or

"The Director of Military Prosecutions can send a charge to the Court Martial."

117ZJ: Procedures for prisoners of war, spies, midshipmen, officer cadets, and chaplains, or

"Special Rules for Some People in the Armed Forces"

Part 5Investigation and summary trial of charges
Miscellaneous matters: Referral of charges

117ZIADirector to determine whether offence is specified offence

This section applies to a charge that is referred to the Director of Military Prosecutions under this Part.
The Director must determine whether the alleged offence—
has 1 or more victims; and
is a specified offence.

If, and to the extent that, the Director determines that a victim identified by the commanding officer is not a victim or that the alleged offence is not a specified offence, Part 10A and section 102A(3)(b) do not apply.
In this section, specified offence and victim have the meanings given in section 198B.

Compare

2002 No 39 s 29A

Notes

Section 117ZIA: inserted, on 30 November 2018, by section 8 of the Military Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2018 (2018 No 36).