Juries Act 1981

Constitution of jury

22C: Procedure if Judge sitting with jury on trial of criminal case becomes incapable of acting

You could also call this:

"What happens if a Judge can't finish a trial with a jury"

If a Judge is working with a jury on a criminal case and becomes unable to continue, another Judge or the Registrar must let the jury go. Then, another Judge can decide if the case should start again from the beginning. If the Judge becomes unable to continue after the jury has started discussing the case, another Judge can help the jury with any questions they have. This new Judge can also accept the jury's decision and make a judgment, or they can let the jury go without a decision, which is like starting the case again.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1782628.

This page was last updated on 25 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Criminal law

22B: Further provisions about discharge under section 22, or

"What happens when a jury is discharged from a trial"

23: Challenge of juror for want of qualification, or

22CProcedure if Judge sitting with jury on trial of criminal case becomes incapable of acting

If a Judge sitting with a jury on the trial of any criminal case becomes incapable of acting before the jury has retired to consider its verdict,—
another Judge or the Registrar must discharge the jury; and
on or after the discharge of the jury, another Judge may order a new trial.

If the Judge sitting with a jury on the trial of a criminal case becomes incapable of acting after the jury has retired to consider its verdict and before judgment has been given, another Judge—
may give any further directions required by the jury; and
may take the verdict and give judgment on it or may discharge the jury without verdict; and
may generally do all things in the same way as the Judge formerly presiding at the trial might have done had that Judge not become incapable of acting.

Notes

Section 22C: inserted, on 25 December 2008 (applying only to any trial for which a jury is constituted on or after that date), by section 15(1) of the Juries Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 40).