New Zealand Legislation: Acts
Acts are laws made by Parliament
(1) For the purposes of any inquiry under section 18A of this Act, the District Court Judge may, of his own motion or on application, by written notice served on the person,—
(a) Summon before him any person or persons (including, where the inquiry relates to a body corporate, any director or employee of the body) to give evidence; and
(b) Require any person to produce for the inspection of the Judge, or of any other person authorised by the Judge for this purpose, any books, papers, accounting records, or other documents, or things, that are relevant to the inquiry.
If any District Court Judge is satisfied that any person who has been summoned under paragraph (a) of this subsection will not attend to give evidence without being compelled to do so, he may issue a warrant (in the same form, with all necessary modifications, as is prescribed for the purposes of section 20(4) of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957) for the attendance of that person at the inquiry.
(2) At any inquiry under section 18A of this Act,—
(a) The District Court Judge may examine on oath any person; and for that purpose the Judge or a Registrar of a Court may administer an oath; and
(b) The District Court Judge may receive as evidence any statement, document, information, matter, or thing, that in his opinion may assist him to deal effectively with the subject of the inquiry, whether or not it would ordinarily be admissible as evidence; and
(c) The chief executive, and the person specified in the chief executive's application under section 18A of this Act, may each be represented by a counsel or agent; and
(d) The chief executive and the person specified in the chief executive's application, or any counsel or agent representing them, may examine, cross-examine, and re-examine, in accordance with the ordinary practice, any person summoned pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.
(3) Every inquiry under section 18A of this Act shall take place in chambers and at such time or times as the District Court Judge determines.
(4) The statement of every person examined under this section shall be taken down in writing, and signed by him in the presence of the District Court Judge and copies thereof shall be delivered to the chief executive and to the person specified in the chief executive's application. The statement shall not form part of the records of the Court.
(5) No person examined under this section shall be excused from answering any question on the ground that the answer may incriminate him or render him liable to any penalty.
(6) No statement made by any person in answer to any question put to him in examination under this section, or document or thing produced pursuant to a requirement under this section, shall in criminal proceedings be admissible in evidence against him, except upon a charge of perjury against him in respect of his testimony upon that examination.
(7) A District Court Judge may, for the purpose of assisting him in the exercise of his powers under section 18C of this Act, appoint any Registrar of a Court, chartered accountant, or other person or persons to inspect documents and things produced pursuant to a requirement under subsection (1)(b) of this section and consider statements made during the inquiry, and to report to him thereon.
(8) A District Court Judge may order that any costs (or such part thereof as is specified by the Judge) incurred by—
(a) The chief executive; or
(b) The person specified in the chief executive's application; or
(c) Any person summoned, or required to produce a document or thing under this section,—
in respect of an inquiry to which this section relates, shall be paid by the chief executive or the person specified in the chief executive's application, or both (in proportions specified by the Judge); and in any such case the costs so awarded shall be recoverable as a debt due by the person against whom they have been awarded to the person in whose favour they have been awarded.
Sections 18A to 18C and the heading above section 18A were inserted, as from 22 December 1980, by section 6 Road User Charges Amendment Act 1980 (1980 No 71).
Subsections (2), (4) and (8) were amended, as from 1 April 1988, by section 3 Road User Charges Amendment Act 1988 (1988 No 46) by substituting the words “chief executive”
for the word “Commissioner”
.