Crimes Act 1961

108 Perjury defined

• (1) Perjury is an assertion as to a matter of fact, opinion, belief, or knowledge made by a witness in a judicial proceeding as part of his evidence on oath, whether the evidence is given in open court or by affidavit or otherwise, that assertion being known to the witness to be false and being intended by him to mislead the tribunal holding the proceeding.

  (2) In this section the term oath includes an affirmation, and also includes a declaration made under section 13 of the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957.

  (3) Every person is a witness within the meaning of this section who actually gives evidence, whether he is competent to be a witness or not, and whether his evidence is admissible or not.

  (4) Every proceeding is judicial within the meaning of this section if it is held before any of the following tribunals, namely:

  • (a) any court of justice:

  • (b) the House of Representatives or any Committee of that House:

  • (c) any arbitrator or umpire, or any person or body of persons authorised by law to make an inquiry and take evidence therein upon oath:

  • (d) any legal tribunal by which any legal right or liability can be established:

  • (e) any person acting as a court or tribunal having power to hold a judicial proceeding:

  • (f) a disciplinary officer, the Summary Appeal Court of New Zealand, or the Court Martial of New Zealand acting under the Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971.

  (5) Every such proceeding is judicial within the meaning of this section whether the tribunal was duly constituted or appointed or not, and whether the proceeding was duly instituted or not, and whether the proceeding was invalid or not.

  Compare: 1908 No 32 s 130

  Section 108(4)(f): substituted, on 1 July 2009, by section 81 of the Armed Forces Discipline Amendment Act (No 2) 2007 (2007 No 98).