Submitted by admin on April 22, 2009 - 22:01
Crimes Compensation
In 1963 there was enacted a pioneer measure for compensating victims of crimes of violence. The Act sets up a tribunal to hear claims either by persons who have suffered bodily injury as a result of criminal acts or by the dependents of persons killed thereby, and to make awards. The principal heads of compensation are actual expenses and loss of wages, the amounts payable under the latter head being equated with the maxima payable under the Workers Compensation Act. The tribunal may also award up to £1,000 for other pecuniary loss and up to £500 for pain and suffering. The amount awarded is paid by the State but recovery may be sought from the offender at the discretion of the Secretary for Justice.
by Bruce James Cameron, B.A., LL.M., Legal Adviser, Department of Justice, Wellington.
- Crime, Law and the Community, Department of Justice (1964).