by 
The Curious Bag
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Perversion of the course of justice is a common-law offense in many nations, following the British common-law legal tradition. This includes Canada and Australia, but it does not include the United States.
Definition
According to Statemaster.com, perversion of the course of justice is a criminal offense in which someone acts "in a manner to prevent justice being served on themselves or other parties."
Punishment
In theory, the maximum sentence for a charge of perverting the course of justice is life imprisonment. However, no sentence of longer than 10 years in prison has been handed down in the past century.
Conviction
Common acts that earn a conviction for perversion of the course of justice include the "fabrication or disposal of evidence," "intimidating a witness or juror," "threatening a witness or juror" or conspiring with another person to do any of the above. A charge can also be made for having an intent to do any of these things.
Similar Crimes
A similar crime is the act of perjury, which is lying to a court while under oath to tell the truth.
Scope
In Britain in 2000, there were 9,763 reported incidents of perversion of the course of justice.
Source:
Resource:
Perjury and Perverting the Course of Justice
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