Search and Surveillance Bill

131 Lawyers' trust accounts

• (1) Subsection (2) applies to documents that are books of account or accounting records kept—

  • (a) by a solicitor in relation to any trust account money that is subject to section 112 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006; or

  • (b) by a nominee company that—

    • (i) is subject to practice rules made by the Council of the New Zealand Law Society under section 96 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006; and

    • (ii) is operated by a barrister and solicitor or an incorporated law firm as a nominee in respect of securities and documents of title held for clients.

  (2) The application by section 130 of this Act of section 54 of the Evidence Act 2006 (which relates to the privilege for communications with legal advisers) does not prevent, limit, or affect—

  • (a) the making of a production order, issuing of a search warrant, or exercise of any other search power in respect of a document to which this subsection applies; or

  • (b) the obligation to comply with that production order, search warrant, or other search power in respect of a document to which this subsection applies; or

  • (c) the admissibility, in a criminal proceeding for an offence described in the production order or search warrant or for an offence in respect of which any other search power was exercised, of any evidence that relates to the contents of a document obtained under the production order or search warrant, or as the result of the exercise of any other search power.