This glossary defines certain terms that are used throughout the guidelines. It is subject to the definitions in the glossary of individual guidelines, where applicable.
Amicus / Amicus curiae A lawyer appointed to assist the Court. Amicus may be appointed to represent the defendant’s interests as well as, or instead of, defence counsel. In cases where the defendant does not have a lawyer and is not allowed to cross-examine certain witnesses personally, amicus will be appointed to cross-examine on their behalf.
Attorney‑General The senior Law Officer for the Crown. The Attorney‑General is a Government Minister who provides advice to Cabinet on legal issues and has ministerial responsibilities for the Crown Law Office. The Attorney‑General has several statutory functions in relation to prosecutions, such as giving consent for certain prosecutions to be commenced. In practice those functions are almost always carried out by the Solicitor‑General.
Charging document(s) The document(s) filed in court by the prosecuting agency which sets out the charge against the defendant.
Child witness Defined in the Evidence Act 2006 as a witness who was under the age of 18 when the proceeding was commenced, including complainants but not defendants.
Complainant See: Victim
Communication assistance Defined in the Evidence Act as meaning oral or written interpretation of a language, written assistance, technological assistance, and any other assistance that enables or facilitates communication with a person who for any reason (for example, insufficient proficiency in the English language, age, or a disability) requires assistance to understand court proceedings or give evidence.
Court victim advisors Employees of the Ministry of Justice who are appointed to provide support, information and advice to victims through the court process. In some courts there are specialist court victim advisors such as sexual violence victim advisors. Some prosecuting agencies may also employ staff to support victims in the cases they prosecute but they are not court victim advisors.
Crown entity An organisation defined in s 7 of the Crown Entities Act 2004.
Crown Law The Crown Law Office (usually known simply as “Crown Law”) is a government department. The Solicitor‑General is its Chief Executive and the Attorney‑General its responsible Minister.
Crown prosecution A public prosecution which meets certain criteria set out in the Crown Prosecution Regulations 2013. If a matter is, or becomes, a Crown prosecution the local Crown Solicitor will assume responsibility for it on behalf of the Solicitor‑General and it will be conducted independently of the original prosecuting agency.
Crown Prosecutor / Crown Solicitor A Crown Solicitor is a lawyer in private practice who holds a warrant of appointment from the Governor‑General to prosecute within a particular geographic area. A Crown Solicitor will employ other prosecutors to assist them in their role, and they may undertake any task on behalf of the Crown Solicitor except where a guideline specifies that something must be done by the Crown Solicitor personally. Any prosecutor conducting a Crown prosecution on behalf of the Solicitor‑General, including prosecutors on the Serious Fraud Office Prosecution Panel, is a Crown prosecutor. Where the guidelines refer to the “local” Crown Solicitor, it is a reference to the Crown Solicitor in whose warrant area the charges have been, or would be, filed. In respect of prosecutions commenced by the Serious Fraud Office, a reference to the Crown Solicitor means the Director of the Serious Fraud Office.
Defendant A person who is being prosecuted in court. The person may also be described as a suspect or offender depending on the context. In general, the term suspect is used to refer to the person under investigation prior to charges being filed. From that point on they are referred to as the defendant. The term offender is used when neither of those terms is apt, and means “alleged offender” if guilt has not yet been established.
Disabled person A person with long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment(s) which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. Disability has a corresponding meaning. See also Mental health issue and Mental and intellectual impairment.
Evidential Test See the guideline on Decisions to prosecute | Te whakatau ki te aru.
Fact-finder The person or group who will decide the facts of the case in court, and determine whether the defendant is guilty or not. It may be a jury or a judge sitting alone.
Government department An organisation listed in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to the Public Service Act 2020.
Independent victim advocate A person who is supporting a victim and advocating on their behalf, who is not appointed by a government agency.
Informant A person who provides information to an enforcement agency, sometimes on a confidential or anonymous basis.
Investigator A person who investigates possible criminal offending. There is usually a lead investigator in charge of an individual file, who may be referred to as the “officer in charge”, particularly in Police prosecutions. Investigators may make prosecution decisions where it is not practical or expedient for a prosecutor to do so. Investigators may not be in a position to take into account all the factors set out in the guidelines, but those decisions will be reviewed by a prosecutor, who will be better placed to do so, at a later date.
Law Officer There are two Law Officers: the Attorney‑General is the senior Law Officer and the Minister responsible for the Crown Law Office. The Solicitor‑General is the junior Law Officer and the Chief Executive of the Crown Law Office.
Marginalised communities comprise people who share one or more particular characteristics (such as ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, language, and/or immigration status), who may have been denied the full opportunity to participate in aspects of everyday life, or who have been historically under-served or otherwise discriminated against, and as a result have been adversely affected by persistent inequality. Members of marginalised communities may have experienced unconscious bias, discrimination, and mistreatment. These experiences may affect how marginalised communities engage and interact with the criminal justice system.
Mental health issue refers to a mental health condition, that may be short-term or long-term, that impacts a person’s thoughts, perceptions, mood and behaviour. See also Disabled person and Mental or intellectual impairment.
Mental or intellectual impairment are distinct types of impairment but are used in these guidelines to refer to impairments which limit a person’s ability to undertake normal daily activities. See also Disabled person and Mental health issue.
Non-Crown prosecution A public prosecution which does not meet the criteria for becoming a Crown prosecution under the Crown Prosecution Regulations 2013. Non‑Crown prosecutions may be conducted by prosecutors employed or instructed by the prosecution agency which commenced the prosecution. That may include Crown Solicitors and their staff, but the matter does not become a Crown prosecution simply because the prosecuting agency has instructed them. The prosecuting agency is the decision‑maker at every stage of a non‑Crown prosecution.
Offender See: Defendant
Officer in charge The lead investigator in charge of the file within a prosecuting agency.
Plea arrangement An agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor that the defendant will plead guilty to one or more charges in exchange for one or more charges being withdrawn, amalgamated or reduced.
Prosecutor Any person who makes a prosecution decision or conducts a prosecution, including representing the prosecuting agency in court. A public prosecutor is the prosecutor in a public prosecution, unless it has become a Crown prosecution in which case it will be conducted by a Crown prosecutor. The guidelines use the term public prosecutor and prosecutor interchangeably but only apply to public prosecutors. Investigators may make prosecution decisions where it is not practical or expedient for a prosecutor to do so. Investigators may not be in a position to take into account all the factors set out in the guidelines, but those decisions will be reviewed by a prosecutor, who will be better placed to do so, at a later date.
Prosecuting agency The entity which has commenced the prosecution. If the prosecuting agency is a government department or a Crown entity the prosecution is a public prosecution. Other public bodies (such as local authorities and other statutory bodies or boards) which bring prosecutions are properly described as prosecuting agencies, but those prosecutions are not public prosecutions, and those agencies are not subject to the guidelines.
Public prosecution A prosecution commenced by the Police, a government department or a Crown entity. A public prosecution may become a Crown prosecution if it meets the criteria in the Crown Prosecution Regulations 2013. Prosecutions commenced by other public bodies (such as local authorities and other statutory bodies or boards) are not public prosecutions, but they are not private prosecutions either. These non‑public, non‑private prosecutions may become Crown prosecutions if they meet the criteria in the Crown Prosecution Regulations.
Private prosecution A prosecution brought by a private individual or organisation. They cannot become Crown prosecutions.
Public Interest Test See the guideline on Decisions to prosecute | Te whakatau ki te aru.
Senior manager The person within a prosecuting agency who is nominated in the agency’s prosecution policy as having the authority to approve certain important decisions.
Solicitor‑General The junior Law Officer for the Crown and Chief Executive of the Crown Law Office. The Solicitor‑General has statutory oversight of all public prosecutions, and is directly responsible for all Crown prosecutions conducted by Crown Solicitors on their behalf. The Solicitor‑General has statutory functions and may perform the functions of the Attorney‑General (such as granting consent for certain prosecutions). The Solicitor‑General’s functions in the criminal jurisdiction may be delegated to a Deputy Solicitor-General.
Stay of proceedings A written direction from the Attorney‑General, under s 176 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, that no further steps can be taken in a prosecution.
Summary of facts (SOF) A document prepared by the prosecuting agency which sets out the factual basis for the charges filed against the defendant. Sometimes called a “Caption Summary” or simply “SOF”.
Support person Any person who is supporting a victim, whether in court or more generally, including court victim advisors and independent victim advocates. A victim may nominate someone they know as a support person, or they may choose to engage with publicly funded support services (such as those contracted to the Ministry of Social Development to provide Court Support Services in sexual violence cases). A prosecuting agency may also employ staff to support victims. A victim may choose to nominate a support person in writing who will receive information on their behalf (instead of the victim themselves). In this guideline, references to victims includes reference to support people who have been so nominated.
Suspect See: Defendant
Under-served populations are populations who face barriers in the criminal justice system for a variety of reasons. Reasons include geographic location, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, or other particular needs (such as language barriers, disability, immigration status or age). In some cases, victims of specific crimes, while not being inherently more vulnerable, may be under served because the system has not been designed for them. For example, adult male victims of family or sexual violence may have difficulty finding specialised support because most specialised services are designed for women and children.
Victim This term has the same meaning as in the Victims’ Rights Act. Broadly, it means a person who has suffered harm1 as a result of an offence. In the case of a child or young person, or a victim who is deceased or otherwise unable to participate in the prosecution, it includes their parents, guardians, and other whānau (unless they are alleged to have harmed the victim themselves). The terms complainant and survivor are not used in these guidelines because many victims do not support their use, but they may be used in other contexts to refer to a victim; with the exception that complainant is used in the guideline on Prosecuting sexual violence | Te aru i te taitōkai in order to distinguish between victims who are the subject of charges and victims who are giving propensity evidence only. For some types of offending there is no defined victim, such as regulatory offending which impacts on the general public or a particular sector. A prosecuting agency may choose to engage with specified groups of people as if they were victims, but are not required to do so. Similarly, a prosecutor may choose to take into account the impact of offending on local iwi or hapu although they do not meet the definition of victim.
Victim Notification Register (VNR) A register maintained by Ara Poutama Aotearoa | the Department of Corrections. Certain victims are entitled to be placed on the register. Victims who are on the register will be notified if the defendant leaves custody.
Witness A person who gives evidence in a proceeding, whether in person, in writing or by pre‑recorded video.
Young person In these guidelines, unless otherwise specified, the term “young person” has its ordinary meaning and is not restricted to those under the age of 18. Depending on the circumstances it may include young adults.