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Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013

Enforcement, liability, and appeals - Civil liability - Defences for person in contravention of civil liability provisions

501: Additional disclosure or financial reporting or climate-related disclosure defence for directors who are treated as contravening

You could also call this:

"Directors can defend themselves if they tried to make their company follow the law"

Illustration for Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013

If you are a director of a company that breaks the law, you might be in trouble. You can defend yourself if you can prove you took all reasonable steps to make sure your company followed the law. This means you did everything you could to ensure your company did the right thing. You can still use other defences you might have under section 499 or 500, even if you use this defence.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM4702265.

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Part 8Enforcement, liability, and appeals
Civil liability: Defences for person in contravention of civil liability provisions

501Additional disclosure or financial reporting or climate-related disclosure defence for directors who are treated as contravening

  1. This section applies if—

  2. a person (A) contravenes any of sections 82, 99, 427, 460 to 461B, 461D, 461H, 461Z to 461ZC, 461ZH, and 461ZI or clause 27 of Schedule 1; and
    1. a person (B) is a director of A who is treated as being in contravention under section 534.

      1. In any proceeding under this subpart against B, it is a defence if B proves that B took all reasonable steps to ensure that A complied with the provision referred to in subsection (1)(a).

      2. Subsection (2) does not limit any defence that B may have under section 499 or 500 (as a person who is treated as contravening a provision referred to in subsection (1)(a)).

      Notes
      • Section 501 heading: amended, on , by section 16(1) of the Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 39).
      • Section 501 heading: amended, on , by section 52(1) of the Financial Reporting (Amendments to Other Enactments) Act 2013 (2013 No 102).
      • Section 501(1)(a): amended, on , by section 29 of the Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 39).
      • Section 501(1)(a): amended, on , by section 16(2) of the Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 39).
      • Section 501(1)(a): amended, on , by section 52(2) of the Financial Reporting (Amendments to Other Enactments) Act 2013 (2013 No 102).
      • Section 501(2): amended, on , by section 41 of the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 8).
      • Section 501(3): amended, on , by section 86 of the Regulatory Systems (Commercial Matters) Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 12).