Queensland Consolidated Acts

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE AND COMMISSIONERS FOR DECLARATIONS ACT 1991 - SECT 35

35 Prohibition on reward

(1) A justice of the peace or commissioner for declarations is not to seek or receive, directly or indirectly, any reward in connection with the performance of the functions of office.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units or imprisonment for 1 year.

(2) In this section—

"in connection with" includes under colour or pretext of.

"receive" includes take or accept.

"reward" includes charge, fee, gratuity or any consideration but, for a justice of the peace (magistrates court), does not include a daily sitting fee paid to the person for constituting a court at a place at which a Magistrates Court may be constituted, if the place is within a community area under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities (Justice, Land and Other Matters) Act 1984 .

"seek" includes request, require, extort or demand.

(3) A court that finds a person guilty of an offence under this section may make an order—

(a) requiring the offender to return the reward to its rightful owner; or

(b) confiscating the reward to the Crown.

(4) A court may make any further order necessary to enforce an order made under subsection (3) .

(5) An order for the payment of an amount of money to a person under subsection (3) (a) —

(a) may be enforced as prescribed by the Justices Act 1886 ; or

(b) upon the order being filed in any court with jurisdiction in actions for debt of that amount, as an order of that court.