Reprint as at 1 October 2008 Evidence Act 2006 Public Act 2006 No 69 Date of assent 4 December 2006 Commencement see section 2 Contents Page 1 Title 11 2 Commencement 11 Part 1 Preliminary provisions General 3 Act to bind the Crown 11 4 Interpretation 11 5 Application 16 Purpose, principles, and matters of general application 6 Purpose 17 7 Fundamental principle that relevant evidence admissible 17 Note Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in this reprint. A general outline of these changes is set out in the notes at the end of this reprint, together with other explanatory material about this reprint. This Act is administered by the Ministry of Justice. 1 Reprinted as at Evidence Act 2006 1 October 2008 8 General exclusion 18 9 Admission by agreement 18 10 Interpretation of Act 18 11 Inherent and implied powers not affected 19 12 Evidential matters not provided for 19 12A Rules of common law relating to statements of 19 co­conspirators, persons involved in joint criminal enterprises, and certain co­defendants preserved 13 Establishment of relevance of document 20 14 Provisional admission of evidence 20 15 Evidence given to establish admissibility 20 Part 2 Admissibility rules, privilege, and confidentiality Subpart 1—Hearsay evidence 16 Interpretation 20 17 Hearsay rule 21 18 General admissibility of hearsay 22 19 Admissibility of hearsay statements contained in business 22 records 20 Admissibility in civil proceedings of hearsay statements 23 in documents related to applications, discovery, or interrogatories 21 Defendant who does not give evidence in criminal 23 proceeding may not offer own statement 22 Notice of hearsay in criminal proceedings 23 Subpart 2—Statements of opinion and expert evidence 23 Opinion rule 24 24 General admissibility of opinions 24 25 Admissibility of expert opinion evidence 25 26 Conduct of experts in civil proceedings 25 Subpart 3—Defendants’ statements, improperly obtained evidence, silence of parties in proceedings, and admissions in civil proceedings 27 Defendants’ statements offered by prosecution 26 28 Exclusion of unreliable statements 26 29 Exclusion of statements influenced by oppression 27 30 Improperly obtained evidence 28 31 Prosecution may not rely on certain evidence offered by 30 other parties 2 Reprinted as at 1 October 2008 Evidence Act 2006 32 Fact­finder not to be invited to infer guilt from defendant’s 30 silence before trial 33 Restrictions on comment on defendant’s right of silence 30 at trial 34 Admissions in civil proceedings 31 Subpart 4—Previous consistent statements made by witness 35 Previous consistent statements rule 31 Subpart 5—Veracity and propensity Application 36 Application of subpart to evidence of veracity and 32 propensity Evidence of veracity 37 Veracity rules 32 38 Evidence of defendant’s veracity 33 39 Evidence of co­defendant’s veracity 33 Evidence of propensity 40 Propensity rule 34 41 Propensity evidence about defendants 34 42 Propensity evidence about co­defendants 35 43 Propensity evidence offered by prosecution about 35 defendants Complainants in sexual cases 44 Evidence of sexual experience of complainants in sexual 36 cases Subpart 6—Identification evidence 45 Admissibility of visual identification evidence 37 46 Admissibility of voice identification evidence 39 Subpart 7—Evidence of convictions and civil judgments 47 Conviction as evidence in civil proceedings 39 48 Conviction as evidence in defamation proceedings 40 49 Conviction as evidence in criminal proceedings 40 50 Civil judgment as evidence in civil or criminal 41 proceedings 3 Reprinted as at Evidence Act 2006 1 October 2008 Subpart 8—Privilege and confidentiality Matters relating to interpretation and procedure 51 Interpretation 41 52 Orders for protection of privileged or confidential 42 material, or material relating to matters of State Privilege 53 Effect and protection of privilege 43 54 Privilege for communications with legal advisers 44 55 Privilege and solicitors’ trust accounts 45 56 Privilege for preparatory materials for proceedings 45 57 Privilege for settlement negotiations or mediation 46 58 Privilege for communications with ministers of religion 47 59 Privilege in criminal proceedings for information obtained 47 by medical practitioners and clinical psychologists 60 Privilege against self­incrimination 49 61 Discretion as to incrimination under foreign law 50 62 Claiming privilege against self­incrimination in court 51 proceedings 63 Replacement of privilege with respect to disclosure 51 requirements in civil proceedings 64 Informers 51 65 Waiver 52 66 Joint and successive interests in privileged material 53 67 Powers of Judge to disallow privilege 54 Confidentiality 68 Protection of journalists’ sources 54 69 Overriding discretion as to confidential information 55 70 Discretion as to matters of State 57 Part 3 Trial process Subpart 1—Eligibility and compellability 71 Eligibility and compellability generally 57 72 Eligibility of Judges, jurors, and counsel 57 73 Compellability of defendants and associated defendants in 58 criminal proceedings 74 Compellability of Sovereign and certain other persons 58 75 Bank officer not compellable to produce banking records 59 76 Evidence of jury deliberations 59 4 Reprinted as at 1 October 2008 Evidence Act 2006 Subpart 2—Oaths and affirmations 77 Witnesses to give evidence on oath or affirmation 60 78 Interpreters to act on oath or affirmation 60 Subpart 3—Support, communication assistance, and views 79 Support persons 61 80 Communication assistance 61 81 Communication assistance need not be provided in certain 62 circumstances 82 Views 62 Subpart 4—Questioning of witnesses 83 Ordinary way of giving evidence 63 84 Examination of witnesses 63 85 Unacceptable questions 64 86 Restriction of publication 64 87 Privacy as to witness’s precise address 65 88 Restriction on disclosure of complainant’s occupation in 65 sexual cases 89 Leading questions in examination in chief and 66 re­examination 90 Use of documents in questioning witness or refreshing 66 memory 91 Editing of inadmissible statements 67 92 Cross­examination duties 67 93 Limits on cross­examination 68 94 Cross­examination by party of own witness 68 95 Restrictions on cross­examination by parties in person 68 96 Cross­examination on previous statements of witnesses 69 97 Re­examination 70 98 Further evidence after closure of case 70 99 Witnesses recalled by Judge 71 100 Questioning of witnesses by Judge 71 101 Jury questions 71 Subpart 5—Alternative ways of giving evidence 102 Application 72 General 103 Directions about alternative ways of giving evidence 72 104 Chambers hearing before directions for alternative ways 73 of giving evidence 5 Reprinted as at Evidence Act 2006 1 October 2008 105 Alternative ways of giving evidence 74 106 Video record evidence 74 Directions about child complainants’ evidence 107 Directions about way child complainants are to give 76 evidence Giving of evidence by undercover constables 108 Undercover constables 77 109 Effect of certificate under section 108 78 Giving of evidence by anonymous witnesses 110 Pre­trial witness anonymity order 80 111 Effect of pre­trial witness anonymity order 81 112 Witness anonymity order for purpose of High Court trial 82 113 Effect of witness anonymity under section 112 83 114 Trial to be held in High Court if witness anonymity order 84 made 115 Judge may appoint independent counsel to assist 84 116 Judge may make orders and give directions to preserve 85 anonymity of witness 117 Variation or discharge of witness anonymity order during 86 trial 118 Witness in Police witness protection programme 86 119 Offences 86 Signature of statements by assumed name 120 Persons who may sign statements by assumed name 87 Subpart 6—Corroboration, judicial directions, and judicial warnings 121 Corroboration 87 122 Judicial directions about evidence which may be 88 unreliable 123 Judicial directions about certain ways of offering evidence 89 124 Judicial warnings about lies 89 125 Judicial directions about children’s evidence 90 126 Judicial warnings about identification evidence 90 127 Delayed complaints or failure to complain in sexual cases 91 Subpart 7—Notice of uncontroverted facts and reference to reliable public documents 128 Notice of uncontroverted facts 91 129 Admission of reliable published documents 91 6 Reprinted as at 1 October 2008 Evidence Act 2006 Subpart 8—Documentary evidence and evidence produced by machine, device, or technical process General and special rules 130 Offering documents in evidence without calling witness 92 131 Admission of depositions 93 132 Documents required to be discovered or included in 93 common bundle 133 Summary of voluminous documents 94 134 Admission of documents discovered in civil proceedings 94 135 Translations and transcripts 94 136 Proof of signatures on attested documents 95 137 Evidence produced by machine, device, or technical 95 process 138 Authenticity of public documents 96 139 Evidence of convictions, acquittals, and other judicial 96 proceedings 140 Proof of conviction by fingerprints 98 141 New Zealand and foreign official documents 99 142 Notification of acts in official documents 100 143 Presumptions as to New Zealand and foreign official seals 101 and signatures 144 Evidence of foreign law 101 Special rules applying where no requirement for legalisation of foreign public document 145 Interpretation 103 146 Foreign public documents: certificates as to contracting 104 States under Convention 147 Foreign public documents: Convention