Except as otherwise provided by this Act, and subject to section 43(2b) of the Criminal Justice Act 1954 (as inserted by section 7(3) of the Criminal Justice Amendment Act 1975),—

A person held in custody for the purposes of any remand pending or during the trial of that person or pending his being sentenced may be detained in any penal institution.

In this section references to persons sentenced to imprisonment include references to persons committed to prison or otherwise liable to be detained in custody except for the purposes of any remand pending or during trial or sentence.”

The Minister may from time to time, subject to such conditions and restrictions as he thinks fit, give authority for the temporary release from custody of an inmate in such circumstances or for such purpose as the Minister specifies. Any authority given by the Minister under this section may be given either generally or in respect of cases of any specified class or in respect of any particular case.

Any release under this section shall be for a period fixed by the Secretary for Justice, or by the Superintendent of the institution within the limits of any authority given to him by the Secretary, and may be subject to conditions imposed by the Secretary or by the Superintendent within the limits of that authority.

The Secretary or the Superintendent of the institution may at any time direct the return to an institution of any person released from custody under this section.

Every person released from custody under this section shall be deemed to be unlawfully at large if he is at large after the expiry of the period for which he was so released or after the giving of a direction for his return to an institution as aforesaid.

If any person released under this section is at large without lawful excuse after the expiry of the period for which he was released (the proof of which excuse shall be on him), he shall be deemed to have escaped from lawful custody and shall be liable accordingly.”

If the Secretary for Justice is satisfied that an inmate of a corrective training institution is medically unfit to undergo his sentence of corrective training the Secretary for Justice may direct that the inmate be transferred to a youth prison. The direction shall be sufficient authority for the reception and detention of the inmate in a youth prison.

If the Minister is satisfied on the recommendation of the Secretary for Justice that an inmate of a corrective training institution is exercising a bad influence on the other inmates of the institution or that it would be in the interests of the inmate to be transferred to a youth prison, the Minister may direct that the inmate be transferred to a youth prison. The direction shall be sufficient authority for the reception and detention of the inmate in a youth prison.

Any inmate transferred pursuant to subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section shall, while detained in a youth prison, be treated as an inmate of a youth prison; except that he shall continue to be subject to the same provisions relating to length of sentence, release, and subsequent supervision as apply to persons sentenced to corrective training.

The Minister may at any time direct that any inmate transferred to a youth prison under this section be transferred back to a corrective training institution.”

If the Minister is satisfied on the recommendation of the Secretary for Justice that an inmate of a youth prison is exercising a bad influence on the other inmates of the institution or that it would be in the interests of the inmate to be transferred to a prison that is not a youth prison, the Minister may direct that the inmate be transferred to a prison that is not a youth prison. Any such direction shall be sufficient authority for the reception and detention of the inmate in a prison that is not a youth prison; except that if an inmate of a corrective training institution has been transferred to a youth prison under section 23 of this Act, and is transferred to a prison that is not a youth prison under this section, he shall continue to be subject to the same provisions relating to length of sentence, release, and subsequent supervision as apply to persons sentenced to corrective training.

The Minister may at any time direct that any inmate transferred to a prison that is not a youth prison under this section be transferred back to a youth prison.”

If the Minister is satisfied on the recommendation of the Secretary for Justice that it would be in the interests of an inmate of any prison that is not a youth prison who is under 23 years of age to be transferred to a youth prison he may direct that the inmate be transferred to a youth prison. Any such direction shall be sufficient authority for the reception and detention of the inmate in a youth prison.

The Minister may at any time direct that any inmate transferred to a youth prison under this section be transferred back to a prison that is not a youth prison.”

Subject to subsection (3) of section 33, and to subsection (3) of section 34, of this Act, every person who is sentenced to imprisonment, not being a sentence of life imprisonment, shall be eligible for release in accordance with this section after he has served not less than three-quarters of the term of his sentence.

Subject to subsection (3) of section 33, and to subsection (3) of section 34, of this Act, but notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) of this section, every person who is sentenced to corrective training, and every other person having satisfied such specified conditions, whether as to the kind of institution in which he is detained or otherwise, as may be determined in writing by the Minister of Justice, shall be eligible for release in accordance with this section after he has served not less than two-thirds of the term of his sentence.

Where any person released under this section is under the provisions of Part V of the Criminal Justice Act 1954 released on probation, the Secretary for Justice may impose such special conditions as he thinks fit.

The Secretary for Justice or such other person to whom the Secretary may delegate his functions shall, in accordance with regulations made by the Governor-General by Order in Council, fix the actual date for the release of each person pursuant to this section.

The Minister may, in exceptional circumstances, postpone for a specified period the date that has been fixed for the release of any person under this section; and this power may be exercised from time to time in respect of the same person.

For the purposes of this section,—

Notwithstanding that an inmate may not otherwise be eligible for release, the Minister may direct the release on a specified date of any inmate who—

Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) of this section, no inmate who would be eligible for release at any time within the period mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection may be released before the 1st day of December immediately preceding that period.

Where any person released under this section is released on probation under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1954 the Minister may impose such special conditions as he thinks fit.

Where any person released under this section is not on probation in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1954 the Minister may direct that for a specified period such a person shall be subject to such conditions as the Minister specifies. Any such period shall not exceed a period equal to that commencing with the date of release under this section and ending with the date on which such a person would have become eligible for release under section 31 of this Act if he had not been released under this section.

Where any person has been released on any condition imposed under subsection (4) of this section and it appears to the Minister that the condition has been broken the Minister may at any time before the date on which the condition expires direct that the offender be returned to or otherwise detained in any institution in which he may be lawfully detained in accordance with the provisions of this Act, whereupon he shall continue to serve his sentence from the time of his return or other detention until he is again released under the provisions of this Act.

Every person released on conditions imposed under subsection (4) of this section shall be deemed to be unlawfully at large if he is at large after the giving of a direction for his return to an institution as aforesaid.

A direction given by the Minister for the release of any offender may be revoked by the Minister at any time before the offender is released.”

This section shall apply in any case where any person suffers, whether before or after the commencement of this section, any loss of or damage to any real or personal property through or by means of any act or omission of an escaper (being an act or omission that occurred in New Zealand) that was intended to facilitate the flight of the escaper or the avoidance of his recapture, or occurred in the course of his escaping or attempting to escape or while he was fleeing to avoid recapture.

Any person who suffers any loss or damage to which this section applies may apply to any Magistrate’s Court designated by the Minister by notice in the Gazette to be a Court that may hear applications under this section, in accordance with the rules of that Court for compensation for such loss or damage and the Court may award under this section to or for the benefit of the applicant compensation in respect of any one or more of the following matters:

No compensation shall be awarded under this section unless the Court is satisfied, on a balance of probabilities,—

Notwithstanding any other enactment the amount awarded to any applicant under this section may in the aggregate amount to $5,000, but shall not exceed that amount.

In determining the amount (if any) to be awarded to any applicant under this section the Court—

For the purposes of paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of this section, a failure by the applicant to insure against the loss or damage shall, if the Court considers that such failure was imprudent having regard to the circumstances of the case and to normal practice, be treated as a failure to take reasonable steps to avoid the loss or damage.

No compensation shall be awarded under this section unless the application has been made within one year from the time the loss or damage occurred; but the Court may, at any time before or after the expiry of the said period of one year extend the time for making an application for any further period if in the circumstances of the case the Court thinks it just to do so.

The Registrar of a Court making any award of compensation under this section shall notify the Secretary for Justice of the award.

Where any compensation is awarded under this section any right of action the applicant may have against the escaper shall be subrogated to the Crown.

The amount of any compensation awarded by any Court under this section shall be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Account from money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.

For the purposes of this section, the term ‘escaper’ means any inmate of a penal institution who escapes or attempts to escape from legal custody.

Where an application for compensation is made under section 41a of this Act in respect of any loss of or damage to property, the Magistrate’s Court shall consider any representations made by or on behalf of the applicant and, unless in his application the applicant objects, may make such inquiries as it thinks fit as to the circumstances surrounding the loss or damage and as to the nature or extent of any such loss or damage or expenses incurred or as to any other matter to which the application relates.

If on such inquiry it appears to the Court that the application is one in respect of which an order for the payment of compensation should be made, it may determine the amount of compensation to be awarded and may, with the prior consent of the applicant, make an order for payment of compensation in accordance with such determination.

In any case where no order is made under subsection (2) of this section, the Court shall, on application, fix a time and place for the hearing of the application for compensation, and shall cause notice thereof to be given to the applicant, and the Court shall determine the application for compensation on the evidence adduced at the hearing.

On the hearing of any application under this section the applicant in person or by his counsel or solicitor shall be entitled to appear and be heard.

The Court may receive in evidence any statement, document, information, or matter that may in its opinion assist it to deal effectually with the matters before it whether or not the same would be otherwise admissible in a Court of law.

Without limiting the generality of subsection (5) of this section, the Court may receive in evidence any notes of evidence or depositions taken at any trial of the offender in respect of any alleged offence arising out of the act or omission on which a claim under section 41a of this Act is based, or any notes of evidence taken in any civil proceedings arising out of that act or omission.

Unless by way of appeal to the Supreme Court on any point of law, no appeal shall lie against any determination of a Magistrate’s Court under section 41a of this Act or under this section, nor, except on the ground of lack of jurisdiction, shall any proceeding, order, or decision of a Magistrate’s Court under those sections be liable to be challenged, reviewed, quashed, held bad for want of form, or called in question by any Court.”