Perverting the course of justice


Perverting the course of justice is an offence committed when a person prevents justice from being served on him/herself or on another party. 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, Hong Kong, Ireland, and New Zealand. The Scottish equivalent is defeating the ends of justice, while the South African counterpart is defeating or obstructing the course of justice.

England and Wales

Doing an act tending and intending to pervert the course of public justice is an offence under the common law of England and Wales.
Perverting the course of justice can be any of three acts:
Also criminal are:
  1. conspiring with another to pervert the course of justice, and
  2. 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:
This proliferation of alternative names is "somewhat confusing".
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 of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981.
This offence is triable only on indictment.

Canada

In Canada, the equivalent offence is referred to as "obstructing justice". It is set out s 139 of the Criminal Code:

Australia

In New South Wales, the equivalent offence is set out in Section 319 of the Crimes Act 1900. The maximum penalty is 14 years' imprisonment.

Notable convictions

Australia