Definitions

Question 1

Homicide

Answer 1

158, CA 1961 - Homicide is the killing of a human being by another, directly or indirectly, by any means whatsoever.

Homicide must be culpable to be an offence

Question 2

Killing of a child

Answer 2

159, CA 1961 -
(1)
A child becomes a human being within the meaning of this Act when it has completely proceeded in a living state from the body of its mother, whether it has breathed or not, whether it has an independent circulation or not, and whether the navel string is severed or not.
(2)
The killing of such child is homicide if it dies in consequence of injuries received before, during, or after birth.

Question 3

Culpable homicide

Answer 3

160, CA 1961 -
(1)
Homicide may be either culpable or not culpable.
(2)
Homicide is culpable when it consists in the killing of any person—
(a) by an unlawful act; or
(b) by an omission without lawful excuse to perform or observe any legal duty; or
(c) by both combined; or
(d) by causing that person by threats or fear of violence, or by deception, to do an act which causes his or her death; or
(e) by wilfully frightening a child under the age of 16 years or a sick person.
(3)
Except as provided in section 178, culpable homicide is either murder or manslaughter.
(4)
Homicide that is not culpable is not an offence.

Question 4

Unlawful Act

Answer 4

Means a breach of any Act, regulation, rule or bylaw

Question 5

Killing by an influence on the mind

Answer 5

163, Crimes Act 1961
No one is criminally responsible for the killing of another by any influence on the mind alone, except by wilfully frightening a child under the age of 16 years or a sick person, nor for the killing of another by any disorder or disease arising from such influence, except by wilfully frightening any such child as aforesaid or a sick person.

Question 6

Murder

Answer 6

167, Crimes Act 1961 -

Culpable homicide is murder in each of the following cases:

(a) if the offender means to cause the death of the person killed:
(b) if the offender means to cause to the person killed any bodily injury that is known to the offender to be likely to cause death, and is reckless whether death ensues or not:
(c) if the offender means to cause death, or, being so reckless as aforesaid, means to cause such bodily injury as aforesaid to one person, and by accident or mistake kills another person, though he or she does not mean to hurt the person killed:
(d) if the offender for any unlawful object does an act that he or she knows to be likely to cause death, and thereby kills any person, though he or she may have desired that his or her object should be effected without hurting any one.

Question 7

Attempts

Answer 7

72, Crimes Act 1961 -

(1) Every one who, having an intent to commit an offence, does or omits an act for the purpose of accomplishing his or her object, is guilty of an attempt to commit the offence intended, whether in the circumstances it was possible to commit the offence or not.
(2) The question whether an act done or omitted with intent to commit an offence is or is not only preparation for the commission of that offence, and too remote to constitute an attempt to commit it, is a question of law.
(3) An act done or omitted with intent to commit an offence may constitute an attempt if it is immediately or proximately connected with the intended offence, whether or not there was any act unequivocally showing the intent to commit that offence.

Question 8

Counselling or attempting to procure murder

Answer 8

174, Crimes Act 1961 -
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years who incites, counsels, or attempts to procure any person to murder any other person in New Zealand, when that murder is not in fact committed.

Question 9

Conspiracy to murder

Answer 9

175, Crimes Act 1961 -

(1) Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years who conspires or agrees with any person to murder any other person, whether the murder is to take place in New Zealand or elsewhere.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the expression to murder includes to cause the death of another person out of New Zealand in circumstances that would amount to murder if the act were committed in New Zealand.

Question 10

Accessory after the fact to murder

Answer 10

176, Crimes Act 1961 -

Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who is an accessory after the fact to murder.

Question 11

Accessory after the fact

Answer 11

71, Crimes Act 1961 -
(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 with or actively suppresses any evidence against him or her, in order to enable him or her to escape after arrest or to avoid arrest or conviction.

Question 12

Infanticide

Answer 12

178, Crimes Act 1961 -
(1) Where a woman causes the death of any child of hers under the age of 10 years in a manner that amounts to culpable homicide, and where at the time of the offence the balance of her mind was disturbed, by reason of her not having fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to that or any other child, or by reason of the effect of lactation, or by reason of any disorder consequent upon childbirth or lactation, to such an extent that she should not be held fully responsible, she is guilty of infanticide, and not of murder or manslaughter, and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years.

Question 13

Duty to provide the necessaries and protect from injury

Answer 13

151, Crimes Act 1961
Every one who has actual care or charge of a person who is a vulnerable adult and who is unable to provide himself or herself with necessaries is under a legal duty—
(a) to provide that person with necessaries; and
(b) to take reasonable steps to protect that person from injury.

Question 14

Duty of parent or guardian to provide necessaries and protect from injury

Answer 14

152, Crimes Act 1961
Every one who is a parent, or is a person in place of a parent, who has actual care or charge of a child under the age of 18 years is under a legal duty—
(a) to provide that child with necessaries; and
(b) to take reasonable steps to protect that child from injury.

Question 15

Suicide pact

Answer 15

180, Crimes Act 1961

(1) Every one who in pursuance of a suicide pact kills any other person is guilty of manslaughter and not of murder, and is liable accordingly.
(2) Where 2 or more persons enter into a suicide pact, and in pursuance of it 1 or more of them kills himself or herself, any survivor is guilty of being a party to a death under a suicide pact contrary to this subsection and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years; but he or she shall not be convicted of an offence against section 179.
(3) For the purposes of this section the term suicide pact means a common agreement between 2 or more persons having for its object the death of all of them, whether or not each is to take his or her own life; but nothing done by a person who enters into a suicide pact shall be treated as done by him or her in pursuance of the pact unless it is done while he or she has the settled intention of dying in pursuance of the pact.

Question 16

Concealing dead body of a child

Answer 16

181, Crimes Act 1961
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years who disposes of the dead body of any child in any manner with intent to conceal the fact of its birth, whether the child died before, or during, or after birth.

Question 17

Children under 10

Answer 17

21, Crimes Act 1961

(1) No person shall be convicted of an offence by reason of any act done or omitted by him or her when under the age of 10 years.
(2) The fact that by virtue of this section any person has not been or is not liable to be convicted of an offence shall not affect the question whether any other person who is alleged to be a party to that offence is guilty of that offence.

Question 18

Children between 10 and 14

Answer 18

22, Crimes Act 1961

(1) No person shall be convicted of an offence by reason of any act done or omitted by him or her when of the age of 10 but under the age of 14 years, unless he or she knew either that the act or omission was wrong or that it was contrary to law.
(2) The fact that by virtue of this section any person has not been or is not liable to be convicted of an offence shall not affect the question whether any other person who is alleged to be a party to that offence is guilty of that offence.

Question 19

Insanity

Answer 19

23, Crimes Act 1961

(1) Every one shall be presumed to be sane at the time of doing or omitting any act until the contrary is proved.
(2) No person shall be convicted of an offence by reason of an act done or omitted by him or her when labouring under natural imbecility or disease of the mind to such an extent as to render him or her incapable—
(a) of understanding the nature and quality of the act or omission; or
(b) of knowing that the act or omission was morally wrong, having regard to the commonly accepted standards of right and wrong.

Question 20

Ignorance of law

Answer 20

25, Crimes Act 1961 -

The fact that an offender is ignorant of the law is not an excuse for any offence committed by him or her.

Question 21

Compulsion

Answer 21

24, Crimes Act 1961
(1)
Subject to the provisions of this section, a person who commits an offence under compulsion by threats of immediate death or grievous bodily harm from a person who is present when the offence is committed is protected from criminal responsibility if he or she believes that the threats will be carried out and if he or she is not a party to any association or conspiracy whereby he or she is subject to compulsion.

Question 22

Self defence

Answer 22

48, Crimes Act 1961
Every one is justified in using, in the defence of himself or herself or another, such force as, in the circumstances as he or she believes them to be, it is reasonable to use.

Question 23

Alibi

Answer 23

Chambers Dictionary defines an alibi as the plea in a criminal charge of having been elsewhere at the material time: the fact of being elsewhere.

Question 24

Notice of alibi

Answer 24

22, Criminal Disclosure Act 2008
(1)
If a defendant intends to adduce evidence in support of an alibi, the defendant must give written notice to the prosecutor of the particulars of the alibi.
(2)
The notice under subsection (1) must be given within 10 working days after the defendant is given notice under section 20.
(3)
Without limiting subsection (1),—
(a)
the notice under subsection (1) must include the name and address of the witness or, if the name and address is not known to the defendant when the notice is given, any matter known by the defendant that might be of material assistance in finding that witness; or
(b)
if the name or the address is not included in the notice, the defendant must have, before giving the notice, taken all reasonable steps, and after giving the notice continue to take all reasonable steps, to ensure that the name and address is ascertained; or