Crimes Act 1961, s 219; Case: [2008] NZSC 3
You won’t be guilty of shoplifting if when you took the things you genuinely thought you had a legal right to them, called a “claim of right” – for example, if you genuinely believed the shop owed you money for something.
Your belief doesn’t have to be a reasonable one – in other words, this can still be a good defence to the charge even if a reasonable person in the same situation wouldn’t have thought you had a right to the things. This could potentially include a mistaken belief resulting from a mental illness.
On the other hand, if your belief isn’t reasonable, the judge can take this into account when deciding whether or not you genuinely had this belief.
Case: (1984) 1 CRNZ 576 (HC)
To put up a “claim of right” defence, you only have to point to some evidence that raises this as a possible defence. It’s then the prosecution’s job to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you didn’t have a genuine belief. It’s not your responsibility to prove that you had this belief.
Example: “Claim of right” defence
Case: [2015] NZHC 1128
A defendant pleaded guilty in the District Court to taking two bags of kitty litter from a vet, worth around $10. She’d done it because she was unhappy with the treatment her pet had received, and believed the vet should repay her the $130 bill she’d paid, which the vet had refused to do. She appealed to the High Court because she hadn’t realised that she might have a defence to the charge. The appeal judge decided there was evidence that might have led to a successful “claim of right” defence if she’d pleaded not guilty, and so cancelled (“quashed”) the conviction.