Database of Legislation

Obstruction of Justice
  • Sectors

    • • Public officials
  • In Order To

    • • Interfere with the exercise of official duties by a justice or law enforcement official
 Chapter III
 Section 133-134
 Part 11 - Division 1

UNTOC Articles

  • Organized Crime Convention

  • Article 23: Criminalization of obstruction of justice
  • Trafficking in Persons Protocol

  • Smuggling of Migrants Protocol

  • Firearms Protocol

     

    Original Text

    Definitions

    133.—(1) In this Division—

    “benefit” includes any advantage including political gain and is not limited to property.

    (2) For the purposes of this Division, a person is taken to have obtained a benefit for another person if the first‑mentioned person induces a third person to do something that results in the other person obtaining the benefit.

    (3) The definition of obtaining in section 288 does not apply to this Division.


    Bribery of public officials

    134.—(1) A person commits an indictable offence (which is triable summarily) if—

    (a) the person without lawful authority or reasonable excuse—

    (i) provides a benefit to another person; or

    (ii) causes a benefit to be provided to another person; or

    (iii) offers to provide, or promises to provide, a benefit to another person; or

    (iv) causes an offer of the provision of a benefit, or a promise of the provision of a benefit, to be made to another person; and

    (b) the person does so with the intention of influencing a public official (who may be the other person) in the exercise of the officer’s duties as a public official.

    Penalty — Imprisonment for 10 years.

    (2) In a prosecution for an offence against sub-section (1), it is not necessary to prove that the defendant knew—

    (a) that the official was a public official; or

    (b) that the duties were duties of a public official.