Perverting the course of justice, in Canadian, English, Hong Kong, and Irish law, is a criminal offence in which someone prevents justice from being served on himself or on another party. It is a common law offence carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
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.
Statutory versions of the offence exist in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. See, for example, Section 319 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), where the maximum penalty is 14 years' imprisonment.
Read more about Perverting The Course Of Justice: England and Wales, Canada, High-profile Convictions
Famous quotes containing the word justice:
“It would be naive to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the problems.... However, with faith and perseverance,... complex problems in the past have been resolved in our search for justice and peace. They can be resolved in the future, provided, of course, that we can think of five new ways to measure the height of a tall building by using a barometer.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)