New Zealand Legislation: Acts

13A Powers in relation to witnesses

• (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 9 of this Act,—

  • (a) Where any witness who is compellable to attend to give evidence at any hearing of a Commission and who has been duly summoned fails to attend at the time and place appointed, any member of that Commission who is a Judge of the High Court or a former Judge of the High Court may exercise, in relation to that witness, the powers conferred on the High Court by section 56A(1) of the Judicature Act 1908; and the provisions of that section shall, with all necessary modifications, apply accordingly; and

  • (b) Where, in any proceedings before a Commission, a witness, without offering any just excuse, refuses to give evidence when required, or refuses to produce any document which the witness is required to produce, or refuses to be sworn or having been sworn refuses to answer such questions concerning the inquiry as are put to that witness, any member of that Commission who is a Judge of the High Court or a former Judge of the High Court may exercise, in relation to that witness, the powers conferred on the High Court by section 56B of the Judicature Act 1908; and the provisions of that section shall, with all necessary modifications, apply accordingly.

  (2) Any member of a Commission who is a Judge of the High Court or a former Judge of the High Court may,—

  • (a) In exercising the powers conferred by section 56A(1) of the Judicature Act 1908 (as applied by subsection (1)(a) of this section), issue to every constable or to a named constable a warrant requiring every constable or the named constable, as the case may be, to arrest a witness and bring that witness before the Commission; and

  • (b) In exercising the powers conferred by section 56B of the Judicature Act 1908 (as applied by subsection (1)(b) of this section), issue to every constable or to a named constable and to the prison manager of any prison a warrant for the arrest and detention of any witness in respect of whom an order made under section 56B(1) of the Judicature Act 1908 (as so applied) is in force (which warrant shall be in a form similar to that of the form prescribed for the purposes of section 39 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957).

  Sections 13A to 13D were inserted, as from 29 July 1995, by section 2 Commissions of Inquiry Amendment Act 1995 (1995 No 48). See section 4 of that Act as to the application of that Act to existing Commissions.

  Subsection (2)(b) was amended, as from 1 June 2005, by section 206 Corrections Act 2004 (2004 No 50) by substituting the words “prison manager of any prison” for the words “Superintendent of any penal institution”. See clause 2 Corrections Act Commencement Order 2005 (SR 2005/52).