Perverting the course of justice
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Script error: No such module "Sidebar". Perverting the course of justice is an offence committed when a person prevents justice from being served on themselves or on another party. In England and Wales it is a common law offence, carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Statutory versions of the offence exist in Australia, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, and New Zealand. The Scottish equivalent is defeating the ends of justice, although charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice are also raised in Scotland,[1] while the South African counterpart is defeating or obstructing the course of justice.[2] A similar concept, obstruction of justice, exists in United States law.
England and Wales
Doing an act tending and intending to pervert the course of public justice[3] is an offence under the common law of England and Wales.
Perverting the course of justice can be any of three acts:
- Fabricating or disposing of evidence
- Intimidating or threatening a witness or juror
- Intimidating or threatening a judge
Also criminal are:
- Conspiring with another to pervert the course of justice, and
- Intending to pervert the course of justice
This offence, and the subject matter of the related forms of criminal conspiracy, have been referred to as:
- Perverting the course of justice
- Interfering with the administration of justice
- Obstructing the administration of justice
- Obstructing the course of justice
- Defeating the due course of justice
- Defeating the ends of justice
- Effecting a public mischief[4]
This proliferation of alternative names has been described as "somewhat confusing".[5]
This offence is also sometimes referred to as "attempting to pervert the course of justice". This is potentially misleading. An attempt to pervert the course of justice is a substantive common law offence and not an inchoate offence. It is not a form of the offence of attempt, and it would be erroneous to charge it as being contrary to section 1(1) of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981.[6]
This offence is triable only on indictment.[7]
Canada
In Canada, the equivalent offence is referred to as "obstructing justice". It is set out in § 139 of the Criminal Code:
Australia
In New South Wales, the equivalent offence is set out in Section 319 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).[8] The maximum penalty is 14 years' imprisonment. In 1985 Murray Farquhar, the former Chief Stipendiary Magistrate of New South Wales, was convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice to have charges against Kevin Humphreys dismissed and sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison.[9] In 2009 Marcus Einfeld, a former Judge of the Federal Court of Australia, was sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison after pleading guilty to making a false statement with intent to pervert the course of justice.[10]
International Criminal Court
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". In 2020, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda described attempted interference with ICC witnesses in the Kenya investigation as perverting the course of justice under Article 70 of the Rome Statute, which defines the legal context of the ICC. Arrest warrants were issued against three people for their alleged attempts to make witnesses withdraw statements or refuse to testify to the court.[11]
Notable convictions
- Jonathan Aitken, a politician and British government cabinet ministerTemplate:Spaced endashperjury and perverting the course of justice[12]
- Jeffrey Archer, an English author and former politicianTemplate:Spaced endashperjury and perverting the course of justice[13][14][15]
- Ali Dizaei, a former commander in London's Metropolitan Police ServiceTemplate:Spaced endashinitially found guilty of perverting the course of justice and jailed; later released on appeal; subsequently re-convicted[16]
- Chris Huhne, a journalist and former British government cabinet minister and his former wife, Vicky PryceTemplate:Spaced endashperverting the course of justice (see R v Huhne and Pryce)[17][18]
- John Humble, a former labourerTemplate:Spaced endashperverting the course of justice[19]
- Bruce Hyman, an English barristerTemplate:Spaced endashperverting the course of justice[20]
- Karen Matthews and Michael DonovanTemplate:Spaced endashfound guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment, and perverting the course of justice[21]
Australia
- Marcus Einfeld, an Australian retired Federal Court and NSW, WA and ACT Supreme Court judgeTemplate:Spaced endashperjury and perverting the course of justice, for lying relative to a speeding ticket[22]
- Lionel Murphy, an Australian former politician and High Court of Australia judgeTemplate:Spaced endashinitially found guilty of perverting the course of justice; the NSW Appeal Court subsequently quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial; subsequently found not guilty[23]
See also
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- Offences against public justice
- Compounding a felony
- Compounding treason
- Contempt of court
- Embracery
- Might makes right
- Misprision of felony
- Misprision of treason
- Right to an effective remedy
- United Nations Convention against Corruption
- British Post Office Scandal
References
- Perjury and Perversion of the Course of Justice Considered (PDF), a primer on the legal details of the offence.
External links
Template:English criminal law navbox Template:Authority control
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ This name is used in the statement of offence in the form of indictment approved in R v Williams (K J) 92 Cr App R 158, [1991] Crim LR 205, CA
- ↑ The Law Commission. Criminal Law: Offences relating to the Administration of Justice. Working Paper No 62. HMSO. 1975. Paragraph 10 at page 6.
- ↑ Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice. 1999. Paragraph 28-23 at page 2261.
- ↑ R v Williams (K J) 92 Cr App R 158, [1991] Crim LR 205, CA
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Template:Cite Legislation AU General offence of perverting the course of justice .
- ↑ Template:Australian Dictionary of Biography
- ↑ Einfeld v R [2010] NSWCCA 87 (5 May 2010), Court of Criminal Appeal (NSW, Australia).
- ↑ Template:Cite Q
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ R v Einfeld [2009] NSWSC 119, Supreme Court (NSW, Australia).
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".