Misleading Justice

Question 1

What are examples of misleading justice?

Answer 1

• preventing a witness from testifying
• wilfully going absent as a witness
• threatening/bribing witnesses
• concealing the fact that an offence has been committed
• intentionally giving police false information to obstruct their inquiries
• supplying false information to probation officers
• assisting a wanted person to leave the country
• arranging a false alibi
• threatening/bribing jury members

Question 2

What is included under oath?

Answer 2

An affirmation and includes an affirmation and also declarations made under S13 Oaths and Declarations Act 1957

Question 3

What was held in relation to corroboration of evidence of perjury, false oaths or false statements?

Answer 3

There must be something that corroborates the allegation that an element of these offences occurred.

Question 4

What proceedings fall under conspiring to defeat justice?

Answer 4

Both criminal and civil matters

Question 5

What is an opinion?

Answer 5

Means a statement offered in evidence of an opinion that tends to prove or disprove a fact.

Question 6

What is not a defence to perjury?

Answer 6

Where a witness gives false information with intent to deceive, it is not a defence to later recant and inform the tribal of the falsity of the earlier evidence given.

Question 7

What is a declaration?

Answer 7

Where a witness under 12 makes a promise to tell the truth

Question 8

In what two ways can a complaint of perjury arise?

Answer 8

• An individual may complain that someone has perjured themselves
• A judge may state or direct in a court recommendation that the Police undertake inquiries into the truth of the evidence given by a witness.

Question 9

What is an assertion?

Answer 9

Something declared or stated positively, often with no support or attempt made at furnishing evidence or proof of the assertions accuracy

Question 10

Definition of knowledge?

Answer 10

Knowing means knowing or correctly believing, the belief must be a correct one, where the belief is wrong a person cannot know something.

Question 11

What is a witness as defined by perjury, S 108

Answer 11

Everyone who actually gives evidence, whether competent to be a witness or not and whether their evidence is admissible or not.

Question 12

When can you commence a prosecution for perjury?

Answer 12

Where it is recommended by the courts or you are directed to by the Commissioner of Police.
You may however begin inquiries into an allegation without reference to the courts of commissioner.

Question 13

What is the legislation around corroboration?

Answer 13

It is not necessary in a criminal proceeding for the evidence on which the prosecution relies to be corroborated except in respect of charges of
-perjury
-false oaths
-false statements
-treason
and it is not necessary for a judge to issue a warning in relation to the dangers or uncorroborated evidence or give a direction relating to the lack of corroboration.

Question 14

What are the elements of the offence of perjury?

Answer 14

• A witness making any
• assertion as to any matter of fact, opinion, belief or knowledge
• in any judicial proceeding
• forming part of that witnesses evidence on oath
• known by that witness to be false and
• intended to mislead the tribunal

Question 15

What is not a defence to conspiring to defeat justice?

Answer 15

That the aim of the offender was to secure a just result or one they believed is right

Question 16

What is perjury?

Answer 16

Perjury is a matter of of fact, opinion, belief or knowledge made by a witness in a judicial proceeding as part of their evidence on oath by way of giving evidence in open court or by affidavit, and the assertion is known to the witness to be false and being intended to mislead the tribunal holding the proceedings

Question 17

What is a matter of fact?

Answer 17

Is the term used by the court to distinguish a particular kind of information.

A fact is a thing done, an actual occurrence or event and it is presented during court proceedings in the form of a witnesses testimony and evidence.

Question 18

When is a witnesses opinion admissible?

Answer 18

When it is necessary to enable the witness to communicate, or the fact finder to understand what the witness saw, hard or otherwise perceived.

Question 19

Every proceeding is judicial within the meaning of perjury if it is held before what tribunals?

Answer 19

• Any court of justice
• The house of Representatives or any Committee of that House
• Any arbitrator or umpire, or any person or body of persons authorised by law to make an inquiry and take evidence therein upon oath
• Any legal tribunal by which any legal right or liability can be established
• Any person acting as a Court or Tribunal having power to hold a judicial proceeding
• A disciplinary officer, the Summary Appeal Court of NZ, or the Court Martial of NZ acting under the Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

Question 20

What is an oath?

Answer 20

A declaration before a person who has the authority to administer an oath, which invokes some religious belief and says that a thing is true or right.

Question 21

What is an affirmation?

Answer 21

Is a verbal or written declaration before a person who has an authority to administer an oath, saying that the thing is true or right without reference to religion

Question 22

The offence of conspiring to defeat justice reaches as far as what?

Answer 22

including conduct intended to effect whether or not proceedings will ever be started and where victims are discouraged from pursuing complaints.

Question 23

What is a witness?

Answer 23

Is a person who gives evidence and is able to be cross-examined and relates to people who have, are or will give evidence.

Question 24

How is a formal statement which is filed in court to be treated?

Answer 24

As if it was given on oath in a judicial proceeding

Question 25

What is a belief?

Answer 25

Is a subjective feeling regarding the validity of an idea or set of facts.
It is more than mere suspicion and less than knowledge and is having faith in an idea or formulating a conclusion as the result of considering the available information.

Question 26

How is giving evidence by audio visual link consider to be taking place?

Answer 26

As if it was at the proceeding so even if the person is outside NZ it would still fall within NZ’s jurisdiction as it would be considered to have occurred within NZ.