Crimes Act 1961
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 28 — Sentence or process without jurisdiction
28 Sentence or process without jurisdiction (1) Every officer, prison manager, or person executing any sentence, process, or warrant, and every person lawfully assisting him, shall be protected from…
Section 29 — Irregular warrant or process
29 Irregular warrant or process (1) Every one acting under a warrant or process that is bad in law on account of some defect in substance or in form, apparent on the face of it, shall be protected…
Section 30 — Arresting the wrong person
30 Arresting the wrong person (1) Every one duly authorised to execute a warrant to arrest who thereupon arrests a person, believing in good faith and on reasonable and probable grounds that he is…
Section 31 — Arrest by constable pursuant to statutory powers
31 Arrest by constable pursuant to statutory powers Every constable is justified in arresting any person without warrant in accordance with the provisions of section 315 of this Act or in accordance…
Section 32 — Arrest by constable of person believed to have committed offence
32 Arrest by constable of person believed to have committed offence Where under any enactment any constable has power to arrest without warrant any person who has committed an offence, the constable…
Section 33 — Arrest by other officers or persons pursuant to statutory powers
33 Arrest by other officers or persons pursuant to statutory powers Every officer or other person, not being a constable, who is authorised by any enactment to arrest any person without warrant is…
Section 34 — Persons assisting constable or officer in arrest
34 Persons assisting constable or officer in arrest (1) Every one called upon by a constable to assist him in the arrest of any person believed or suspected to have committed any offence is justified…
Section 35 — Arrest of persons found committing certain crimes
35 Arrest of persons found committing certain crimes Every one is justified in arresting without warrant— (a) Any person whom he finds committing any offence against this Act for which the maximum…
Section 36 — Arrest of person believed to be committing crime by night
36 Arrest of person believed to be committing crime by night Every one is protected from criminal responsibility for arresting without warrant any person whom he finds by night in circumstances…
Section 37 — Arrest after commission of certain crimes
37 Arrest after commission of certain crimes Where any offence against this Act has been committed, every one who believes, on reasonable and probable grounds, that any person has committed that…
Section 38 — Arrest during flight
38 Arrest during flight (1) Every one is protected from criminal responsibility for arresting without warrant any person whom he believes, on reasonable and probable grounds, to have committed an…
Section 39 — Force used in executing process or in arrest
39 Force used in executing process or in arrest Where any person is justified, or protected from criminal responsibility, in executing or assisting to execute any sentence, warrant, or process, or in…
Section 40 — Preventing escape or rescue
40 Preventing escape or rescue (1) Where any person is lawfully authorised to arrest or to assist in arresting any other person, or is justified in or protected from criminal responsibility for…
Section 41 — Prevention of suicide or certain offences
41 Prevention of suicide or certain offences Every one is justified in using such force as may be reasonably necessary in order to prevent the commission of suicide, or the commission of an offence…
Section 42 — Preventing breach of the peace
42 Preventing breach of the peace (1) Every one who witnesses a breach of the peace is justified in interfering to prevent its continuance or renewal, and may detain any person committing it, in…
Section 43 — Suppression of riot
43 Suppression of riot Every one is justified in using such force as is necessary to suppress a riot, if the force used is not disproportionate to the danger to be apprehended from the continuance of…
Section 44 — Suppression of riot by Police
44 Suppression of riot by Police The senior member of the Police for the time being acting at the place of any riot is justified in using and ordering to be used, and every constable is justified in…
Section 45 — Suppression of riot by persons acting under lawful orders
45 Suppression of riot by persons acting under lawful orders (1) Every one, whether a member of the New Zealand forces or not, acting in good faith in obedience to orders for the suppression of any…
Section 46 — Suppression of riot by persons without orders
46 Suppression of riot by persons without orders Every one, whether a member of the New Zealand forces or not, who believes, in good faith and on reasonable and probable grounds, that serious…
Section 47 — Protection of members of New Zealand forces
47 Protection of members of New Zealand forces (1) Every one bound as a member of the New Zealand forces to obey the lawful command of his superior officer is justified in obeying any command given…
Section 48 — Self-defence and defence of another
48 Self-defence and defence of another Every one is justified in using, in the defence of himself or another, such force as, in the circumstances as he believes them to be, it is reasonable to use.…
Section 49 — Self-defence against provoked assault
49 Self-defence against provoked assault [Repealed] Sections 49 to 51 were repealed, as from 1 January 1981, by section 2(1) Crimes Amendment Act 1980 (1980 No 63).
Section 50 — Provocation defined
50 Provocation defined [Repealed] Sections 49 to 51 were repealed, as from 1 January 1981, by section 2(1) Crimes Amendment Act 1980 (1980 No 63).
Section 51 — Defence of person under protection
51 Defence of person under protection [Repealed] Sections 49 to 51 were repealed, as from 1 January 1981, by section 2(1) Crimes Amendment Act 1980 (1980 No 63).
Section 52 — Defence of movable property against trespasser
52 Defence of movable property against trespasser (1) Every one in peaceable possession of any movable thing, and every one lawfully assisting him, is justified in using reasonable force to resist…
Section 53 — Defence of movable property with claim of right
53 Defence of movable property with claim of right (1) Every one in peaceable possession of any movable thing under a claim of right, and every one acting under his authority, is protected from…
Section 54 — Defence of movable property without claim of right
54 Defence of movable property without claim of right (1) Every one in peaceable possession of any movable thing, but neither claiming right thereto nor acting under the authority of a person…
Section 55 — Defence of dwellinghouse
55 Defence of dwellinghouse Every one in peaceable possession of a dwellinghouse, and every one lawfully assisting him or acting by his authority, is justified in using such force as is necessary to…
Section 56 — Defence of land or building
56 Defence of land or building (1) Every one in peaceable possession of any land or building, and every one lawfully assisting him or acting by his authority, is justified in using reasonable force…
Section 57 — Assertion of right to land or building
57 Assertion of right to land or building (1) Every one is justified in peaceably entering in the daytime on any land or building to the possession of which he, or some person under whose authority…
Section 58 — Exercise of right of way, etc
58 Exercise of right of way, etc Every one lawfully entitled to enter on any land for the exercise of any right of way or other easement or profit is justified in peaceably entering on the land for…
Section 59 — Parental control
59 Parental control (1) Every parent of a child and every person in the place of a parent of the child is justified in using force if the force used is reasonable in the circumstances and is for the…
Section 60 — Discipline on ship or aircraft
60 Discipline on ship or aircraft (1) The master or officer in command of a ship on a voyage or the pilot in command of an aircraft on a flight is justified in using and ordering the use of force for…
Section 61 — Surgical operations
61 Surgical operations Every one is protected from criminal responsibility for performing with reasonable care and skill any surgical operation upon any person for his benefit, if the performance of…
Section 61A — Further provisions relating to surgical operations
61A Further provisions relating to surgical operations (1) Every one is protected from criminal responsibility for performing with reasonable care and skill any surgical operation upon any person if…
Section 62 — Excess of force
62 Excess of force Every one authorised by law to use force is criminally responsible for any excess, according to the nature and quality of the act that constitutes the excess. Compare: 1908 No 32 s…
Section 63 — Consent to death
63 Consent to death No one has a right to consent to the infliction of death upon himself; and, if any person is killed, the fact that he gave any such consent shall not affect the criminal…
Section 64 — Obedience to de facto law
64 Obedience to de facto law Every one is protected from criminal responsibility for any act done in obedience to the laws for the time being made and enforced by those in possession de facto of the…
Section 65 — Other enactments not affected
65 Other enactments not affected Nothing in this Act shall take away or diminish any authority given by any other enactment to arrest, detain, or put any restraint on any person. Compare: 1908 No 32…
Section 66 — Parties to offences
66 Parties to offences (1) Every one is a party to and guilty of an offence who— (a) Actually commits the offence; or (b) Does or omits an act for the purpose of aiding any person to commit the…
Section 67 — Conspiracy between spouses or civil union partners
67 Conspiracy between spouses or civil union partners A person is capable of conspiring with his or her spouse or civil union partner or with his or her spouse or civil union partner and any other…
Section 68 — Party to murder outside New Zealand
68 Party to murder outside New Zealand (1) Except as hereinafter provided, every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years who, in New Zealand, aids, incites, counsels, or…
Section 69 — Party to any other crime outside New Zealand
69 Party to any other crime outside New Zealand (1) Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years who, in New Zealand, aids, incites, counsels, or procures the doing or…
Section 70 — Offence committed other than offence intended
70 Offence committed other than offence intended (1) Every one who incites, counsels, or procures another to be a party to an offence of which that other is afterwards guilty is a party to that…
Section 71 — Accessory after the fact
71 Accessory after the fact (1) An accessory after the fact to an offence is one who, knowing any person to have been a party to the offence, receives, comforts, or assists that person or tampers…
Section 72 — Attempts
72 Attempts (1) Every one who, having an intent to commit an offence, does or omits an act for the purpose of accomplishing his object, is guilty of an attempt to commit the offence intended, whether…
Section 73 — Treason
73 Treason Every one owing allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen in right of New Zealand commits treason who, within or outside New Zealand,— (a) Kills or wounds or does grievous bodily harm to Her…
Section 74 — Punishment for treason or attempted treason
74 Punishment for treason or attempted treason (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, every one who commits treason within the meaning of any of the provisions of paragraphs (a) to (e) of…
Section 75 — Evidence of treason
75 Evidence of treason (1) No one shall be convicted of treason on the evidence of one witness only, unless the evidence of that witness is corroborated in some material particular by evidence…
Section 76 — Punishment for being party to treason
76 Punishment for being party to treason Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who— (a) Becomes an accessory after the fact to treason; or (b) Knowing that a person is…