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Local Government Act 2002

Offences, penalties, infringement offences, and legal proceedings - Legal proceedings - Representation

249: Representation of local authority in proceedings

You could also call this:

“Who can speak for a local council in court”

You need to know about how a local authority can be represented in certain types of legal proceedings. These include cases about local government ratings, cases involving bankrupts, and cases in the District Court or before a Justice or Community Magistrate.

In these cases, the local authority can be represented by two types of people. The first is a member of the local authority who has been chosen by a vote. The second is any officer of the local authority or another person who has been picked in writing by the mayor, chairperson, or chief executive of the local authority.

If a member of the local authority, an officer, or another person represents the local authority in these proceedings, the local authority must pay them back for any damages, costs, charges, or expenses they had to pay because of their role in the proceedings.

This is all part of the Local Government Act 2002. It’s important to note that some cases about local government ratings are handled under a different law called the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM174066.

Topics:
Government and voting > Local councils
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
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Part 9 Offences, penalties, infringement offences, and legal proceedings
Legal proceedings: Representation

249Representation of local authority in proceedings

  1. This section applies to proceedings involving a local authority—

  2. under the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002:
    1. under any enactment in relation to bankrupts:
      1. in all proceedings—
        1. in the District Court; or
          1. before any Justice or Community Magistrate.

          2. In the proceedings referred to in subsection (1), the local authority may be represented by the following persons acting on behalf of the local authority:

          3. a member of the local authority appointed for the purpose by resolution of the local authority; or
            1. any officer of the local authority or other person appointed in writing by the mayor or chairperson of the local authority, as the case may be, or the chief executive of the local authority.

              1. A member of the local authority, and any officer or other person acting on behalf of the local authority, must be reimbursed by the local authority for any damages, costs, charges, and expenses incurred by the member or person acting under subsection (2).

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              Notes
              • Section 249(1)(c)(i): amended, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).