New Zealand Legislation: Acts
Acts are laws made by Parliament
(1) Where any constable seizes any thing under section 198, it shall be retained under the custody of a constable, except while it is being used in evidence or is in the custody of any Court, until it is disposed of under this section.
(2) If the thing seized is—
(a) any forged bank note, or any special paper, revenue paper, frame, mould, instrument, plate, wood, stone, material or other thing, of which the possession without lawful excuse is an offence; or
(b) any counterfeit coin, or any instrument, machine, tool, or other thing used or intended to be used for the purpose of coining, of which the possession with knowledge of its nature and without lawful excuse is an offence—
an application shall be made by a constable, or by the prosecutor or informant, to the Court by which any charge relating to that thing is determined, or to a District Court Judge, for an order that it be forfeited, defaced, or destroyed; and on any such application the Court or the District Court Judge may make an order accordingly.
(3) If the thing seized is a thing to which subsection (2) does not apply, the following provisions shall apply:
(a) in any proceedings for an offence relating to the thing, the Court may order, either at the trial or hearing or on a subsequent application, that the thing be delivered to the person appearing to the Court to be entitled to it, or that it be otherwise disposed of in such manner as the Court thinks fit:
(b) any constable may at any time, unless an order has been made under paragraph (a), return the thing to the person from whom it was seized, or apply to a District Court Judge for an order as to its disposal; and on any such application the District Court Judge may make any order that a Court may make under paragraph (a):
(c) if proceedings for an offence relating to the thing are not brought within a period of 3 months after the date of the seizure, any person claiming to be entitled to the thing may, after the expiration of that period, apply to a District Court Judge for an order that it be delivered to him; and on any such application the District Court Judge may adjourn the application, on such terms as he thinks fit, for proceedings to be brought, or may make any order that a Court may make under paragraph (a).
(4) Where any person is convicted in any proceedings for an offence relating to any thing to which this section applies, and any order is made under this section, the operation of the order shall be suspended—
(a) in any case until the expiration of the time prescribed by this Act or, as the case may require, the time prescribed by the Crimes Act 1961 for the filing of notice of appeal or of an application for leave to appeal; and
(b) where notice of appeal is filed within the time so prescribed, until the determination of the appeal; and
(c) where application for leave to appeal is filed within the time so prescribed, until the application is determined and, where leave to appeal is granted, until the determination of the appeal.
(5) Where the operation of any such order is suspended until the determination of the appeal, the Court determining the appeal may by order annul or vary the order made under this section; and that order, if annulled, shall not take effect, and, if varied, shall take effect as so varied.
(6) In this section the term Court includes the High Court.
Compare: 1908 No 32 s 365(3), (4), (5), (6); 1927 No 37 s 280
Subsection (4)(a) was amended by substituting the reference to “the Crimes Act 1961”
for a reference to “the Criminal Appeal Act 1945”
.
