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Water Services Act 2021

Standards, enforcement, and other matters - Criminal proceedings - Liability of certain persons

166: Liability of body corporate or unincorporated body

You could also call this:

"When a company or group breaks a water rule, they can get in trouble if someone in the group meant to do wrong."

Illustration for Water Services Act 2021

You are part of a company or group. If your group breaks a rule in the Water Services Act 2021, you might get in trouble. To decide if your group is guilty, the court needs to know what your group was thinking when it broke the rule. The court can look at what one of your group's leaders, workers, or representatives was thinking. You can be found guilty if one of your leaders, workers, or representatives had the wrong state of mind while doing their job. This person must have been acting on behalf of your group when they broke the rule. You can read more about similar rules in section 245 of another law.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS374883.

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Topics:
Environment and resources > WaterBusiness > Industry rules
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"It's not your fault: a defence against some water law charges"

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167: Liability of body corporate, unincorporated body, principal, or individual, or

"When someone working for you breaks the law, you can be held responsible too."

Part 3Standards, enforcement, and other matters
Criminal proceedings: Liability of certain persons

166Liability of body corporate or unincorporated body

  1. This section applies when—

  2. a body corporate or an unincorporated body is charged with an offence against this Act; and
    1. for the purpose of the prosecution, it is necessary to establish the body corporate’s or unincorporated body’s state of mind.

      1. It is sufficient to show that an officer, employee, or agent of the body corporate or unincorporated body, acting within the scope of their actual or apparent authority, had the state of mind.

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