Crimes Against Justice

The term ‘Justice’ includes the courts, the legal system and the police.  Some offences are considered to be crimes against ‘justice’ itself such as:

  • bribery
  • contempt of court
  • making false statements, and
  • perjury

These offences carry heavy penalties, including imprisonment.  A person commits the offence of bribery when offering public official, money or other favours to get them to act in his/her interests.

A person is guilty of contempt of court if s/he ignores or challenges a court’s authority or a direction of a court by doing among other things:

  • interrupting proceedings during a trial
  • refusing to answers questions when called as a witness
  • consistently appearing late for a court hearing
  • generally not obeying the directives of the court and/or judge

Penalties for contempt vary depending on the circumstances but can include fines and/or imprisonment.

Moreover, a person could be charged with offences such as perjury (deliberately giving false evidence in a court or tribunal), or  making a false statement, or making a false report to police, if s/he do not tell the truth in any of the following situations:

  • giving evidence in court
  • swearing an affidavit
  • making a statutory declaration, or
  • reporting a crime