Costs in Criminal Cases Act 1967

7 Payment of defendant's costs

• (1) Subject to subsection (2), where any order is made under section 5 or section 6 the amount ordered to be paid to the defendant shall—

  • (a) if the prosecution was conducted by or on behalf of the Crown, be paid by the chief executive of the Ministry of Justice out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose and may be recovered as a debt due by the Crown:

  • (b) if the prosecution was not conducted by or on behalf of the Crown, be paid by the informant and may be recovered from him as a debt, and any such order made by a District Court shall be enforceable as if it were an order made under Part 2 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957.

  (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) where a court is of the opinion that any person has acted negligently or in bad faith in bringing, continuing, or conducting a prosecution it may, in any order made under section 5, direct that the defendant's costs shall be paid by—

  • (a) the government department, officer of the Crown, local authority, or public body on whose behalf that person was acting; or

  • (b) if he was not so acting, by that person personally,—

  and in any such case costs shall not be paid under subsection (1) but shall be paid by, and may be recovered as a debt from, the government department, officer of the Crown, local authority, public body, or person specified in the order.

  (3) If an order under section 5 or section 6 relating to the payment of costs is made in favour of a Crown organisation that was prosecuted for an offence against the Building Act 1991, the Building Act 2004, the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, or the Resource Management Act 1991, those costs must be paid to that Crown organisation.

  Section 7(1)(a): amended, on 1 October 2003, pursuant to section 14(2) of the State Sector Amendment Act 2003 (2003 No 41).

  Section 7(1)(a): amended, on 1 July 1995, by section 10(1) of the Department of Justice (Restructuring) Act 1995 (1995 No 39).

  Section 7(1)(b): amended, on 1 April 1980, pursuant to section 18(2) of the District Courts Amendment Act 1979 (1979 No 125).

  Section 7(3): inserted, on 18 October 2002, by section 21 of the Crown Organisations (Criminal Liability) Act 2002 (2002 No 37).

  Section 7(3): amended, on 1 October 2009, by section 162(3) of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 31).

  Section 7(3): amended, on 31 March 2005, by section 414 of the Building Act 2004 (2004 No 72).