Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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EVIDENCE AND PROCEDURE (NEW ZEALAND) REGULATIONS 1995 NO. 22

STATUTORY RULES 1995 No. 22

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Justice

Evidence and Procedure (New Zealand) Act 1994

Evidence and Procedure (New Zealand) Regulations

Section 49 of the Evidence and Procedure (New Zealand) Act 1994 (the Act) provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed.

Subsection 49(3) of the Act provides that the Governor-General must not make regulations for the purposes of subsection 22(1) or paragraph 36(2)(b) specifying a court of the Australian Capital Territory unless the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory has requested in writing that the court be so specified.

The Chief Minister has requested that the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory be specified for the purposes of both subsection 22(1) and paragraph 36(2)(b). The Regulations

•       prescribe the notice setting out the rights and obligations of the person served which must accompany a subpoena served in New Zealand under the Act;

•       specify certain courts, for the purpose of paragraph 7(b) of the Act, so that Part 2 (which authorises service of Australian subpoenas in New Zealand) applies to those courts;

•       specify the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory for the purpose of subsection 22(1) of the Act, so that Pan 3 (which authorises Australian courts to receive documents or things produced in compliance with a New Zealand subpoena) applies to that court;

•       set out requirements relating to the production of a document or thing to an Australian court in compliance with a New Zealand subpoena;

•       specify certain courts for the purpose of paragraph 24(b) of the Act, so that Part 4 (which enables courts to obtain evidence from New Zealand by video link or telephone) applies to those courts;

•       specify the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory for the purpose of paragraph 36(2)(b) of the Act so that section 36 (which provides for officers of specified courts to assist New Zealand courts obtaining evidence from Australia by video link or telephone) applies to that court; and

•       provide that a person applying under section 13 of the Act for an Australian subpoena in New Zealand to be set aside does not have to pay any court fees relating to the application.

The prescription of South Australian courts and ACT courts in these Regulations has been requested respectively by the Attorney-General of South Australia and the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory.

Details of the Regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1 is formal.

Regulation 2 provides for the Regulations to commence when section 7 of the Act commences. All of the Act, except sections 1 and 2, will commence on 1 April 1995.

Regulation 3 contains definitions.

Regulation 4, together with Part 1 of Schedule 1, has the effect of applying Part 2 of the Act to the courts listed in Part 1 of the Schedule, namely the Supreme Court, District Court and Magistrate's Court of South Australia and the Supreme Court, Magistrates Court and Coroner's Court of the Australian Capital Territory.

Regulation 5 prescribes the form in Schedule 2 as the notice required to be served by subsection 10(3) of the Act. The prescribed notice sets out the rights and obligations of the person to whom the subpoena is addressed and includes information about the way in which an application to have the subpoena set aside may be made.

Regulation 6 prevents a court charging any filing fee or hearing fee in respect of an application to set aside an Australian subpoena served on a person in New Zealand.

Regulation 7, together with Part 2 of Schedule 1, has the effect that documents or things required by a New Zealand subpoena served in Australia, which requires only production of documents or things, may be lodged with the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, for transmission to the relevant New Zealand court.

Regulation 8 requires. in effect, that where a person produces a document or thing at a prescribed Australian court pursuant to a New Zealand subpoena, produces the subpoena and pays the estimated cost of sending the document or thing to the New Zealand court which issued the subpoena, the Registrar of the Australian court must accept the document or a thing for lodgment. The Registrar must then, amongst other things, cause the document or thing to be sent to the New Zealand court by a means which will ensure that it arrives before the document or thing is required at that court.

Regulation 9, together with Part 3 of Schedule 1, has the effect of applying Part 4 of the Act to the courts listed in Part 3 of the., Schedule, namely the Supreme Court, District Court and Magistrates' Court of South Australia and the Supreme Court and Magistrates Court of the Australian Capital Territory.

Regulation 10, together with Part 4 of Schedule 1, has the effect that officers of the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court may assist a New Zealand court to take evidence by video link or telephone from a place in Australia.