Evidence Act 2006

If you need more information about this Act, please contact the administering agency: Ministry of Justice

Part 2 Admissibility rules, privilege, and confidentiality

Subpart 1—Hearsay evidence

16 Interpretation

(1)

In this subpart,—

business—

(a)

means any business, profession, trade, manufacture, occupation, or calling of any kind; and

(b)

includes the activities of any department of State, local authority, public body, body corporate, organisation, or society

business record—

(a)

means a document—

(i)

that is made—

(A)

to comply with a duty; or

(B)

in the course of a business, and as a record or part of a record of that business; and

(ii)

that is made from information supplied directly or indirectly by a person who had, or may reasonably be supposed by the court to have had, personal knowledge of the matters dealt with in the information he or she supplied; but

(b)

does not include a Police record that contains any statement or interview by or with an eyewitness, or a complainant, or any other person who purports to have knowledge or information about the circumstances of alleged offending or the issues in dispute in a civil proceeding

circumstances, in relation to a statement by a person who is not a witness, include—

(a)

the nature of the statement; and

(b)

the contents of the statement; and

(c)

the circumstances that relate to the making of the statement; and

(d)

any circumstances that relate to the veracity of the person; and

(e)

any circumstances that relate to the accuracy of the observation of the person

duty includes any duty imposed by law or arising under any contract, and any duty recognised in carrying on any business practice.

(2)

For the purposes of this subpart, a person is unavailable as a witness in a proceeding if the person—

(a)

is dead; or

(b)

is outside New Zealand and it is not reasonably practicable for him or her to be a witness; or

(c)

is unfit to be a witness because of age or physical or mental condition; or

(d)

cannot with reasonable diligence be identified or found; or

(e)

is not compellable to give evidence.

(3)

Subsection (2) does not apply to a person whose statement is sought to be offered in evidence by a party who has caused the person to be unavailable in order to prevent the person from attending or giving evidence.

Section 16(1) business record: replaced, on 8 January 2017, by section 6 of the Evidence Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 44).