Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908

9 Offences

• (1) Every person commits an offence who, after being summoned to attend to give evidence before the Commission or to produce to it any papers, documents, records, or things, without sufficient cause—

  • (a) Fails to attend in accordance with the summons; or

  • (b) Refuses to be sworn or to give evidence, or having been sworn refuses to answer any question that the person is lawfully required by the Commission or any member of it to answer concerning the subject of the inquiry; or

  • (c) Fails to produce any such paper, document, record, or thing.

  (2) Every person commits an offence who—

  • (a) Wilfully obstructs or hinders the Commission or any member of it or any authorised person in any inspection or examination of papers, documents, records, or things pursuant to section 4C(1)(a) of this Act; or

  • (b) Without sufficient cause, fails to comply with any requirement of the Commission or any authorised person made under section 4C(1)(b) or (c) of this Act; or

  • (c) Without sufficient cause, acts in contravention of or fails to comply with any order made by the Commission under section 4C(3) of this Act or any term or condition of the order.

  (3) Every person who commits an offence against this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000.

  (4) No person summoned to attend the inquiry shall be convicted of an offence against subsection (1) of this section unless at the time of the service of the summons, or at some other reasonable time before the date on which that person was required to attend, there was made to that person a payment or tender of the amount fixed under section 7(2) of this Act.

  Section 9 was amended, as from 23 November 1967, by section 2 Commissions of Inquiry Amendment Act 1967 (1967 No 62) by repealing the second proviso.

  Sections 5 to 9 were substituted, as from 4 July 1980, by section 4 Commissions of Inquiry Amendment Act 1980 (1980 No 2).