Section 216N — Crimes Act 1961: Protection from liability

216N Protection from liability (1) This section applies to the following persons: (a) any member of the police; and (b) any Customs officer; and (c) any officer or employee of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service; and (d) any employee of the Department of Corrections and any other employee exercising powers or functions under the Corrections Act 2004 ; and (e) any lawyer or agent— (i) giving legal advice in relation to an intimate visual recording; or (ii) giving legal advice, or making representations, in relation to any civil or criminal proceedings; and (f) any other person or member of a class of persons prescribed in regulations made under this Act; and (g) the person who is the subject of an intimate visual recording. (2) No person referred to in subsection (1)(g) commits an offence against section 216I or section 216J by possessing or publishing the intimate visual recording. (3) No other person to whom this section applies commits an offence against section 216H or section 216I or section 216J(1)(a) or (b) or (c) by making, possessing, or publishing any intimate visual recording for the purpose of, or in the course of, carrying out the functions set out in subsection (5) . (4) Subsection (3) does not apply in respect of anything done in bad faith or without reasonable cause. (5) The functions referred to in subsection (3) are functions relating to— (a) the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, or punishment of offences: (b) the conduct of proceedings in any court or tribunal: (c) security or safety. (6) Subsections (1) to (3) apply despite the fact that, but for this section, the act would have otherwise constituted an offence. (7) Where a person to whom subsection (1)(a) to (f) applies has in his or her possession an intimate visual recording, the recording must not be kept longer than is required for the purpose of carrying out the functions referred to in subsection (5) , and must then either be— (a) made available to the person who is the subject of the recording, if that person requests; or (b) immediately destroyed if the person who is the subject of the recording makes no request under paragraph (a) . Sections 216G to 216N were inserted, as from 5 December 2006, by section 4 Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 75).