Part 3
Other forms of assistance to a Tribunal
Taking evidence, etc
21 Attorney-General may authorise taking of evidence
(1) This section applies where a Tribunal makes a request to the Attorney-General
(a) for evidence to be taken in New Zealand ; or
(b) for documents or other articles in New Zealand to be produced—
for the purposes of a proceeding before, or an investigation conducted by, the Tribunal.
(2) Subject to section 57, where the Attorney-General is satisfied—
(a) that the request relates to a Tribunal offence ; and
(b) that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the evidence can be taken or, as the case may be, the documents or other articles can be produced in New Zealand,—
the Attorney-General may authorise, in writing, assistance in accordance with section 22 and section 23.
22 Taking of evidence
(1) Where the Attorney-General authorises the taking of evidence under section 21, the evidence shall be taken on oath from each witness by a Judge.
(2) The Judge who takes evidence in accordance with subsection (1), shall—
(a) cause the evidence to be put in writing ; and
(b) certify that the evidence was taken by the Judge ; and
(c) cause the writing so certified to be sent to the Attorney-General.
23 Producing documents or other articles
(1) Where the Attorney-General authorises the production of documents or other articles, that production shall be required by the order of a Judge.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), if the documents or other articles are produced, the Judge shall send them to the Attorney-General together with a written statement certifying that they were pro-duced to the Judge.
(3) In the case of documents, the Judge may send to the Attorney-General copies of the documents certified by the Judge to be true copies.
24 Legal representation
The Judge conducting a proceeding under section 22 or section 23, or both, may permit—
(a) the person to whom the proceeding before, or investi¬gation conducted by, the Tribunal relates ; and
(b) any other person giving evidence or producing docu-ments or other articles at the proceeding before the Judge ; and
(c) the Tribunal—
to have legal representation at the proceeding before the Judge.
25 Form of certificate
A certificate by a Judge under section 22(2) or section 23(2)shall state whether, when the evidence was taken or the documents or other articles were produced, any of the following persons were present :
(a) the person to whom the proceeding before, or the in-vestigation conducted by, the Tribunal relates, or that person's legal representative (if any) :
(b) any other person giving evidence or producing documents or other articles, or that person's legal representative (if any).
26 Compellability of persons to attend
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the law of New Zealand with respect to compelling persons—
(a) to attend before a Judge ; and
(b) to give evidence, answer questions, and produce documents or other articles—
on the hearing of a charge against a person for an offence against the law of New Zealand shall apply, with necessary modifications, with respect to compelling persons for the purposes of sections 22 and 23.
(2) For the purposes of sections 22 and 23, the person to whom the proceeding before, or the investigation conducted by, the Tribunal relates, is competent but not compellable to give evidence.
(3) No person who is required, pursuant to section 22 or section 23, to give evidence, or to produce documents or other articles for the purposes of a proceeding before, or investigation conducted by, a Tribunal shall be required to give any evidence, or to produce any document or article, that the person could not be compelled to give or produce in the proceedings before, or investigation conducted by, the Tribunal.
(4) A person who is required, pursuant to section 22 or section 23, to give evidence or produce documents or other articles for the purposes of a proceeding before, or investigation conducted by, the Tribunal shall have the same privileges in relation to the answering of questions and the production of documents or articles as if the proceedings were pending in a New Zealand court or the investigation were being conducted in New Zealand, as the case may be.
27 Tribunal immunity certificates
(1) In this section, Tribunal immunity certificate means a cer-tificate or declaration that—
(a) is given or made by a Tribunal under the Statute of the Tribunal or under the rules adopted under the Statute of the Tribunal ; and
(b) specifies or declares that, under the Statute of the Tribunal or under the rules adopted under the Statute of the Tribunal, persons generally or a specified person could or could not
(i)either generally or in specified proceedings ; and
(ii) either generally or in specified circumstances —
be required to answer a specified question or to produce a specified document.
(2) A Tribunal immunity certificate, duly authenticated in accord¬ance with subsection (3), is admissible in proceedings for the purposes of the application of section 26(3) as prima facie evidence of the matters stated in the certificate.
(3) A certificate is duly authenticated for the purposes of subsection (2) if it purports to be signed or certified by a Judge, Registrar, or officer of the Tribunal.
28 Powers of Judge may be exercised by Registrar
(1) Any Judge may authorise a Registrar of the High Court to exercise the powers of a Judge under section 22 or section 23 in respect of any particular case.
(2) Any authorisation given under subsection (1) may be revoked at any time by any Judge.
(3) Where any matter in respect of which a Registrar has jurisdiction under any authorisation given under subsection (1) appears to the Registrar to be one of special difficulty, he or she may refer the matter to a Judge, who may dispose of the mat¬ter or may refer it back to the Registrar with such directions as the Judge thinks fit.
(4) Nothing in this section shall prevent the exercise, by any Judge, of any jurisdiction or powers conferred on any Registrar under this section.
Search and seizure
29 Attorney-General may authorise application for search warrant Subject to section 57, where—
(a) a Tribunal makes a request to the Attorney-General to assist in obtaining by search and seizure any thing that is relevant to a Tribunal offence ; and
(b) the Attorney-General is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the thing is located in New Zealand,—
the Attorney-General may, in writing, authorise a constable to apply to an issuing officer for the issue of a search warrant in accordance with section 48, and that constable may apply for the warrant accordingly.
Giving evidence at hearings, or assisting in investigations, in foreign countries
30 Person other than offender giving evidence or assisting
(1) This section applies where—
(a) a Tribunal makes a request to the Attorney-General for the attendance of a person
(i) at a hearing in a foreign country in connection with a proceeding before the Tribunal ; or
(ii) in a foreign country to assist an investigation being conducted by the Tribunal ; and
(b) the person is in New Zealand and is not a person described in section 31(1 )(b).
(2) Where, on receipt of a request to which this section applies, the Attorney-General is satisfied—
(a) that the proceeding or investigation relates to a Tribunal offence ; and
(b) that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person can give evidence relevant to the proceeding or as¬sist the investigation ; and
(c) that the person has freely consented to giving evidence or assisting in the foreign country ; and
(d) that the Tribunal has given, to the extent, if any, required by the Attorney-General, an adequate undertaking in respect of the matters specified in section 33,—
the Attorney-General may, subject to section 57, authorise, in writing, assistance to the Tribunal in accordance with this section and may assist in the making of arrangements to facilitate that attendance.
31 Offender giving evidence or assisting
(1) This section applies where—
(a) a Tribunal has made a request to the Attorney-General for the attendance of a person
(i) at a hearing in a foreign country in connection with a proceeding before the Tribunal ; or
(ii) in a foreign country to assist an investigation be¬ing conducted by the Tribunal ; and
(b) the person is in New Zealand and is —
(i) a prisoner ; or
(ii) on parole, home detention, or compassionate release, or is subject to release conditions, under Part 1 of the Parole Act 2002 ; or
(iii) subject to a sentence of home detention imposed under section 80A of the Sentencing Act 2002 ; or
(iv) at large pursuant to section 62 of the Corrections Act 2004 ; or
(v) subject to a community-based sentence (within the meaning of section 4(1) of the Sentencing Act 2002).
(2) Where, on receipt of a request to which subsection (1) applies, the Attorney-General is satisfied—
(a) that the proceeding or investigation relates to a Tribunal offence ; and
(b) that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person can give evidence relevant to the proceeding or assist the investigation ; and
(c) that the person has freely consented to giving evidence or assisting in the foreign country ; and
(d) that the Tribunal has given, to the extent, if any, required by the Attorney-General, adequate undertakings in respect of the matters referred to in section 33,—
the Attorney-General may, subject to section 57, authorise the travel of the person to a foreign country in accordance with this section.
(3) Where travel by a person to a foreign country is authorised in accordance with subsection (2), the Attorney-General may,—
(a) in the case of a person who is a prisoner, direct that the prisoner be released from the prison in which that per-son is detained for the purpose of travelling to the foreign country to give evidence at the hearing, and may make arrangements for the prisoner to travel to the for-eign country in the custody of a constable or a prison officer:
(b) in the case of any other person to which this section applies, approve and arrange the travel of the person to the foreign country to give evidence at the hearing, and may obtain such approvals, authorities, and permissions as are required for the purpose, including the variation, discharge, or suspension of the conditions of the person's release, or the variation, cancellation, or suspension of the person's sentence, or of the conditions of the person's sentence.
(4) A direction given, pursuant to subsection (3)(a), by the Attorney-General in respect of a prisoner shall be sufficient authority for the release of the prisoner from the prison in which he or she is detained for the purposes of the direction.
(5) Every person released under a direction given pursuant to sub-section (3)(a) shall, while that person is in New Zealand dur¬ing the period of that release, be deemed, for the purposes of section 120 of the Crimes Act 1961 (which relates to escaping from lawful custody) and for that purpose only, to continue to be in legal custody for the time being under the Corrections Act 2004.
32 Effect of removal to foreign country on prisoner's sentence
Where a prisoner who is serving a sentence for an offence against the law of New Zealand is released from a New Zealand prison pursuant to a request by a Tribunal under section 31, the prisoner shall, while in custody in connection with the request (including custody outside New Zealand), be deemed to be continuing to serve that sentence.
33 Undertakings relating to persons giving evidence or assisting
(1) Where a Tribunal makes a request to the Attorney-General for the attendance of a person to whom section 31 applies or a person to whom section 30 applies to give evidence or assist, the Attorney-General shall seek from the Tribunal an undertaking—
(a) that the person will only be required to give evidence or assistance in relation to the Tribunal offence specified in the request ; and
(b) that any evidence given by the person will not be used in any proceeding other than the proceeding to which the Tribunal offence relates ; and
(c) that the person will be returned to New Zealand as soon as practicable in accordance with arrangements agreed to by the Attorney-General.
(2) In a case where the request relates to a person who is a pris-oner, and the Attorney-General requests the Tribunal to make arrangements for the keeping of the prisoner in custody while the prisoner is in the foreign country, the Tribunal shall also give, to the extent, if any, required by the Attorney-General, the following undertakings :
(a) that appropriate arrangements will be made for that purpose:
(b) that the prisoner will not be released from custody in the foreign country without the prior approval of the Attorney-General:
(c) that if the prisoner is released in accordance with paragraph (b), the prisoner's accommodation and expenses will be paid for by the Tribunal until the Tribunal decides that the person is no longer required to give evidence in the proceeding, or to assist the investigation, to which the request relates.
Custody of persons in transit
34 Transit
(1) Where a person is to be transported in custody from a foreign country through New Zealand to another foreign country for the purpose of—
(a) giving evidence in a proceeding before a Tribunal ; or
(b) giving assistance in relation to an investigation being conducted by a Tribunal ; or
(c) being surrendered to a Tribunal,—
that person may be transported through New Zealand in the custody of another person.
(2) Where an aircraft or ship by which the person is being trans-ported lands or calls at a place in New Zealand, the person must be kept in such custody as the Attorney-General may direct in writing until the person's transportation is continued.
(3) Where—
(a) a person is being held in custody pursuant to a direction under subsection (2) ; and
(b) the person's transportation is not, in the Attorney-General's opinion, continued within a reasonable time,
— the Attorney-General may direct that the person be transported in custody to the foreign country from which the person was first transported, and such a direction shall be sufficient authority for that person's removal from New Zealand by such means as the Attorney-General directs.
(4) For the purposes of enabling the grant of a limited visa under the Immigration Act 2009 to any person whom it is proposed to transport through New Zealand pursuant to this section, the Attorney-General may issue a certificate, in writing, that the person is to be transported through New Zealand pursuant to this section.
(5) The Attorney-General may, at any time by notice in writing, cancel any certificate issued under subsection (4) in respect of any person who is in New Zealand for the purposes of being transported through New Zealand pursuant to this section if the Attorney-General is satisfied that that person's presence in New Zealand is no longer necessary for that purpose.
Assistance in serving documents
35 Service of process
(1) Subject to section 57, where—
(a) a Tribunal requests the Attorney-General to arrange for service in New Zealand of a process relating to a proceeding before, or an investigation conducted by, the Tribunal in respect of a Tribunal offence ; and
(b) the Attorney-General is satisfied
(i) hat the request relates to a Tribunal offence ; and
(ii) that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the person to be served is located in New Zealand,—
the Attorney-General may authorise service of the process.
(2) Where service is authorised under subsection (1), the Attorney-General shall direct the appropriate authority to arrange service, and in such a case the authority shall—
(a) use its best endeavours to have the process served
(i) in accordance with procedures proposed in the request ; or
(ii) if those procedures would be unlawful or in-appropriate in New Zealand, or if no procedures are so proposed, in accordance with the law of New Zealand ; and
(b) if the document
(i) is served, transmit to the Attorney-General for transmission to the Tribunal a certificate as to service ; or
(ii) is not served, transmit to the Attorney-General for transmission to the Tribunal a statement of the reasons that prevented the service.
Direct execution of requests on State territory
Other forms of cooperation
Execution of requests for assistance (under Articles 93 and 96) in accordance with national law
Cooperation under procedures of national law
National procedures for execution of requests for other forms of cooperation
Request for other forms of cooperation
EDIT.