Court Martial Act 2007

Miscellaneous and administrative provisions - Miscellaneous provisions - Miscellaneous

72: Limits on application of section 71: evidence of general matters

You could also call this:

"What evidence can be used in court to prove something is true"

You need to know some rules about evidence in court cases. These rules are about what can be used as evidence in court. They help decide what is true or not. You can use certain papers as evidence. These papers include attestation papers and declarations. They show what a person said when they joined the Armed Forces. You can also use copies of papers to prove someone is in the Armed Forces. These copies must be certified by an officer. Some documents can be used as evidence of what a person did or did not do. These documents can show if someone served in a particular force or held a certain rank. Copies of regulations and rules are also evidence. These copies must be printed under the authority of the New Zealand Government. Lists of Armed Forces members can be used as evidence too. These lists show the status and rank of members. Warrants and orders made under certain Acts are evidence as well. They can be used to prove what was stated in them. Entries in service records can also be used as evidence. These entries must be signed by the right officer. A copy of an entry or document in a service record can be evidence. This copy must be certified by the officer in charge of the record. A certificate signed by a commanding officer can be evidence. It can show what is in a Defence Force Order or a Defence Manual. A navigation report can be evidence if it is about a New Zealand ship. This report must be prepared by a competent officer.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1002027.

This page was last updated on 12 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal help

71: Evidence in proceedings under this Act or 1971 Act, or

"Rules for Evidence in a Court Martial"

73: Limits on application of section 71: evidence of custody at police station, or

"Rules for Using Police Station Records as Evidence"

Part 3Miscellaneous and administrative provisions
Miscellaneous provisions: Miscellaneous

72Limits on application of section 71: evidence of general matters

Despite section 71, subsections (2) to (12) apply with respect to evidence in all proceedings under this Act or the 1971 Act.
The attestation paper purporting to be signed by a person on his or her being attested as a rating, soldier, or aviator in the Armed Forces of New Zealand or in any Commonwealth force, and the declaration purporting to be made by any person upon his or her re-engagement in any of the Armed Forces of New Zealand or in any Commonwealth force, is evidence of that person having given the answers to questions that he or she is represented as having given in the paper or declaration.
The enlistment of a person in any of the Armed Forces of New Zealand or in a Commonwealth force may be proved by the production of a copy of his or her attestation paper purporting to be certified to be a true copy by the officer or record officer having the custody of the attestation paper without proof of the handwriting of that officer, or of his or her having the custody of the paper.
A letter, return, or other document with respect to a person, if purporting to be issued by or on behalf of the Chief of Defence Force, or by a person authorised by the Chief of Defence Force, or by the commanding officer or the officer or record officer having the custody of the records of any portion of a Commonwealth force, or of any ship of a Commonwealth naval force to which that person appears to have belonged, or alleges that he or she belongs or had belonged, is evidence of the facts stated in that letter, return, or other document of the person—
having or not having at any time or times served in, or been discharged from, any Commonwealth force; or
having or not having held any rank or appointment in, or been posted or transferred to, any Commonwealth force, or having or not having served in any particular country or place; or
being or not being authorised to use or wear any service decoration, ribbon, badge, wound stripe, or emblem, the use or wearing of which by an unauthorised person is under any other Act an offence.

Copies purporting to be printed under the authority of the New Zealand Government of regulations, rules, or orders made under this Act, the 1971 Act, the Defence Act 1990, or any other Act are evidence of those regulations, rules, or orders.
Any list of members of the Armed Forces published by or under the authority of the Chief of Defence Force, or published in the Gazette, is evidence of the status and rank of the members mentioned in the list or Gazette, and of any appointment held by any of those members, and of the ship, corps, or battalion or arm or branch of the service to which any of those members belongs.
Any warrants or orders made under this Act, the 1971 Act, or the Defence Act 1990 by any service authority are deemed to be evidence of the matters and things that are directed to be stated in those warrants or orders by or under this Act, the 1971 Act, or the Defence Act 1990, and any copies of any of those warrants or orders purporting to be certified to be true copies by the officer alleged to be authorised by the Chief of Defence Force to certify them, are admissible in evidence.
If an entry is made in, or a document is filed with, any service record pursuant to this Act, the 1971 Act, or the Defence Act 1990 or pursuant to a service duty, and that entry or document purports to be signed by the commanding officer or by the officer or record officer whose duty it is to make the entry or file the document, as the case may be, that entry or document is evidence of the facts stated in them.
A copy of any entry or document (including the signature of any person who has signed it) forming part of a service record and purporting to be certified to be a true copy by the officer or record officer stated in the certificate to have the custody of the record is evidence of that entry or document.
A certificate purporting to be signed by the commanding officer of any accused, or signed by any other officer authorised by that commanding officer to give the certificate, and stating the contents of any Defence Force Order, or any general, standing, daily, or routine order, or any part of the order, made in respect of any service, force, command, or formation, or any defence area or ship, or any unit, detachment, or other part of the Armed Forces, is, in the proceedings against the accused, evidence of the matters stated in the certificate.
A certificate purporting to be signed by the commanding officer of any accused, or signed by any other officer authorised by that commanding officer to give the certificate, and stating the contents of any part of any Defence Manual, is, in the proceedings against the accused, evidence of the matters stated in the certificate.
If the issue or one of the issues in the proceedings relates to the navigation of one of His Majesty's New Zealand ships, a navigation report prepared by a competent officer or officers appointed in accordance with the rules of procedure is evidence of the matters stated in the report.

Notes

Section 72(2): amended, on 27 November 2025, by section 57 of the Statutes Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 74).
Section 72(12): editorial change made by the PCO, on 31 October 2024, under sections 86(1) and 87(d) of the Legislation Act 2019 (2019 No 58).