Perverting the course of justice

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Criminal law Perverting the course of justice is an offence committed when a person interferes with the administration of justice. 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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while the South African counterpart is defeating or obstructing the course of justice.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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<ref>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</ref> is an offence under the common law of England and Wales.

Perverting the course of justice can include acts such as:

• 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<ref>The Law Commission. Criminal Law: Offences relating to the Administration of Justice. Working Paper No 62. HMSO. 1975. Paragraph 10 at page 6.</ref>

This proliferation of alternative names has been described as "somewhat confusing".<ref>Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice. 1999. Paragraph 28-23 at page 2261.</ref>

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.<ref>R v Williams (K J) 92 Cr App R 158, [1991] Crim LR 205, CA</ref>

This offence is triable only on indictment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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).<ref>Template:Cite Legislation AU General offence of perverting the course of justice .</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Australian Dictionary of Biography</ref> 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.<ref name="Einfeld v R">Template:Cite AustLII.</ref>

International Criminal Court

Template:See also 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.<ref name="ICC_following_transfer_of_Paul_Gicheru">Template:Cite Q</ref>

Notable convictions

• Jonathan Aitken, a politician and British government cabinet ministerTemplate:Spaced endashperjury and perverting the course of justice<ref name="guardian 1999">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Jeffrey Archer, an English author and former politicianTemplate:Spaced endashperjury and perverting the course of justice<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 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<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 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)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=bbc-20130307>Template:Cite news</ref>
• John Humble, a former labourerTemplate:Spaced endashperverting the course of justice<ref name="admits">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Bruce Hyman, an English barristerTemplate:Spaced endashperverting the course of justice<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Karen Matthews and Michael DonovanTemplate:Spaced endashfound guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment, and perverting the course of justice<ref name="Guardian4Dec">Template:Cite news</ref>

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<ref name=austlii119>Template:Cite AustLII.</ref>
• 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<ref name="ANU">Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Offences against public justice
• Compounding a felony
• Compounding treason
• Contempt of court
• Embracery
• Might makes right
• Misprision of felony
• Misprision of treason
• Obstruction of justice, similar charge in the United States
• 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:Commonscatinline