COOK ISLANDS - CRIMES ACT 1969

PART VI - CRIMES AFFECTING TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LAW AND JUSTICE

111. Judicial corruption - (1) Every judicial officer is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years who corruptly accepts or obtains, or agrees or offers to accept or attempts to obtain, any bribe for himself or any other person in respect of any act done or omitted, by him in his judicial capacity.

(2) Every judicial officer, and every Registrar or Deputy Registrar of any Court, is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years who corruptly accepts or obtains, or agrees or offers to accept or attempts to obtain, any bribe for himself or any other person in respect of any act done or omitted, or to be done or omitted, by him in his official capacity not being an act or omission to which subsection (1) of this section applies.

COOK ISLANDS - CRIMES ACT 1969

PART VI - CRIMES AFFECTING TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LAW AND JUSTICE

112. Bribery of Judicial officer, etc. - (1) Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years who corruptly gives or offers or agrees to give any bribe to any person with intent to influence any judicial officer in respect of any act or omission by him in his judicial capacity.

(2) Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years who corruptly gives or offers or agrees to give any bribe to any person with intent to influence any judicial officer or any Registrar or Deputy Registrar of any Court in respect of any act or omission by him in his official capacity, not being an act or omission to which subsection (1) of this section applies.

COOK ISLANDS - CRIMES ACT 1969

PART VI - CRIMES AFFECTING TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LAW AND JUSTICE

Misleading Justice

119. 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 653 of the Cook Islands Act 1915.

(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 Legislative Assembly or any Committee of that Assembly;

(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.

(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.

COOK ISLANDS - CRIMES ACT 1969

PART VI - CRIMES AFFECTING TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LAW AND JUSTICE

120. Punishment of perjury - (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, every one is liable to imprisonment for a term-not exceeding seven years who Commit perjury.

(2) If perjury is committed in order to procure the conviction of a person for any crime punishable by death, or for any offence for which the maximum punishment is not less than three years imprisonment, the punishment may be imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

COOK ISLANDS - CRIMES ACT 1969

PART VI - CRIMES AFFECTING TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LAW AND JUSTICE

122. False statements or declarations - Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years who, on any occasion on which he is required or permitted by law to make any statement or declaration before any officer or person authorised by law to take or receive it, or before any notary public to be certified by him as such notary, makes a statement or declaration that would amount to perjury if made on oath in a judicial proceeding.

COOK ISLANDS - CRIMES ACT 1969

PART VI - CRIMES AFFECTING TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LAW AND JUSTICE

124. Fabricating evidence - Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years who, with intent to mislead any tribunal holding any judicial proceeding to which section 119 of this Act applies, fabricates evidence by any means other than perjury.

COOK ISLANDS - CRIMES ACT 1969

PART VI - CRIMES AFFECTING TEE ADMINISTRATION OF LAW AND JUSTICE

127. Conspiring to defeat justice - Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years who conspires to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of justice.

128 Corrupting juries and witnesses - Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years who-

(a) Dissuades or attempts to dissuade any person, by threats, bribes, or other corrupt means, from giving evidence in any cause or matter, civil or criminal; or

(b) Influences or attempts to influence, by threats or bribes or other corrupt means, any juryman or assessor in his conduct as such, juryman or assessor whether the juryman has been sworn as a juryman or assessor as the case may be, or not; or

(c) Accepts any bribe or other corrupt consideration to abstain from giving evidence, or on account of his conduct as a juryman or assessor; or

(d) Wilfully attempts in any other way to obstruct, prevent, pervert, or defeat the course of justice.

Article 70
Offences against the administration of justice
1. The Court shall have jurisdiction over the following offences against its administration of justice when committed intentionally:
(a) Giving false testimony when under an obligation pursuant to article 69, paragraph 1, to tell the truth;
(b) Presenting evidence that the party knows is false or forged;
(c) Corruptly influencing a witness, obstructing or interfering with the attendance or testimony of a witness, retaliating against a witness for giving testimony or destroying, tampering with or interfering with the collection of evidence;
(d) Impeding, intimidating or corruptly influencing an official of the Court for the purpose of forcing or persuading the official not to perform, or to perform improperly, his or her duties;
(e) Retaliating against an official of the Court on account of duties performed by that or another official;
(f) Soliciting or accepting a bribe as an official of the Court in connection with his or her official duties.