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Contempt of Court Act 2019

Provisions to promote and facilitate administration of justice - Enforcement of certain court orders

20: Provisions relating to imprisonment imposed under section 16

You could also call this:

"Rules for going to prison and being released under section 16"

Illustration for Contempt of Court Act 2019

If you are sent to prison under section 16, a warrant is issued to take you into custody. The warrant is given to a bailiff or constable, who must take you to prison, and all constables must help with this. You can be taken to prison by any constable who receives the warrant.

When you are sent to prison, you must go to a prison that is set up under the Corrections Act 2004. The person in charge of the prison must take you in and keep you there until you are allowed to leave. This means you will stay in prison until a court decides you can be released.

A Judge can decide to release you from prison at any time if they think it is the right thing to do. The Judge can set conditions for your release, such as saying you might be arrested again if you do not follow the rules they set. The Judge gets to decide what conditions are fair and what you must do to stay out of prison.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS147736.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Criminal law
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Part 2Provisions to promote and facilitate administration of justice
Enforcement of certain court orders

20Provisions relating to imprisonment imposed under section 16

  1. A warrant for the committal of any person to prison under section 16(4) must be directed to a bailiff or constable, who may take the person into custody, and every constable has a duty to assist in the execution of warrants issued under that provision.

  2. Any person committed to prison by any court under section 16(4) must be committed to a prison established under or deemed to be established under the Corrections Act 2004, and the prison manager of the prison mentioned in the warrant is bound to receive and keep the person until the person is lawfully discharged.

  3. If at any time it appears to the satisfaction of a Judge of the court that committed the person to prison that the person ought for any reason to be discharged, the Judge may order the person’s discharge from prison on any terms (including liability to rearrest if the terms are not complied with) that the Judge thinks fit.