Section 400 — Crimes Act 1961: Consent of Attorney-General to proceedings in certain cases for offences on ships or aircraft

400 Consent of Attorney-General to proceedings in certain cases for offences on ships or aircraft (1) No information shall, by virtue only of the provisions of this Act, be laid against any person who— (a) Whether or not he is a New Zealand citizen or a person ordinarily resident in New Zealand, is alleged to have committed beyond New Zealand an offence on board or by means of any ship or aircraft which is not a New Zealand ship or a New Zealand aircraft, or an offence to which subsection (3) of section 8 of this Act applies; or (b) Whether or not he is a New Zealand citizen or a person ordinarily resident in New Zealand, is alleged to have committed, anywhere within New Zealand or in the space above New Zealand, an offence on board or by means of any ship or aircraft which belongs to the Government of any country other than New Zealand or is held by any person on behalf or for the benefit of that Government, whether or not the ship or aircraft is for the time being used as a ship or aircraft of any of the armed forces of that country— except with the consent of the Attorney-General and on his certificate that it is expedient that the proceedings should be instituted; and where the proceedings would be instituted only by virtue of the jurisdiction conferred by paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 8 of this Act the Attorney-General shall not give his consent unless he is satisfied that the Government of the country to which the ship or aircraft belongs has consented to the institution of the proceedings: Provided that a person alleged to have committed any such offence may be arrested, or a warrant for his arrest may be issued and executed, and he may be remanded in custody or on bail, notwithstanding that the consent of the Attorney-General to the laying of an information for the offence has not been obtained; but no further or other proceedings shall be taken until that consent has been obtained. (2) Nothing in this section shall apply with respect to any offence against the Maritime Transport Act 1994 or Part 5A of the Civil Aviation Act 1990 . Compare: 1953 No 120 s 5(1) Subsection (1) was amended, as from 1 January 1981, by section 4(1)(a) Crimes Amendment Act 1980 (1980 No 63) by substituting the words “ No information shall, by virtue only of the provisions of this Act, be laid against ” for the words “ Proceedings for the trial and punishment of ” . Subsection (1)(a) was amended, as from 1 January 1981, by section 4(1)(b) Crimes Amendment Act 1980 (1980 No 63) by substituting the words “ alleged to have ” for the words “ charged with having ” . Subsection (1) was amended, as from 1 January 1981, by section 4(1)(c) Crimes Amendment Act 1980 (1980 No 63) by omitting the words “ shall not, by virtue only of the provisions of this Act, be instituted in any Court ” . Subsection (1) proviso was amended, as from 1 January 1981, by section 4(1)(d) Crimes Amendment Act 1980 (1980 No 63) by substituting the words “ alleged to have committed ” for the words “ charged with ” . Subsection (1) proviso was amended, as from 1 January 1981, by section 4(1)(d) Crimes Amendment Act 1980 (1980 No 63) by substituting the words “ laying of an information ” for the words “ institution of a prosecution ” . The reference to the “ Maritime Transport Act 1994 ” in subsection (2) was substituted for a reference to the “ Shipping and Seamen Act 1952 ” , as from 1 February 1995, pursuant to section 202(1) Maritime Transport Act 1994 (1994 No 104). See clause 2 Maritime Transport Act Commencement Order 1994 (SR 1994/272). Subsection (2) was amended, as from 1 June 2004, by section 41(3) Civil Aviation Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 8) by inserting the words “ or Part 5A of the Civil Aviation Act 1990 ” after the expression “ 1994 ” .