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Search and Surveillance Act 2012

General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers - Privilege and confidentiality - Search warrants and other search powers

143: Search warrants that extend to lawyers' premises or material held by lawyers

You could also call this:

"Searching a lawyer's things: what happens when police want to look at client information"

If a search warrant is issued to look at things a lawyer has, you need to know what happens. This rule applies when the police want to search a lawyer's things that belong to their client. The police can only search these things if the lawyer or someone representing them is there.

When the police go to search, they must try to contact the lawyer first. If they cannot contact the lawyer, they must contact the New Zealand Law Society for help. The New Zealand Law Society will send someone to represent the lawyer's clients.

Before the police start searching, they must give the lawyer or their representative a chance to say some things are private. This means the lawyer can say that some things belong to their client and should not be looked at. The lawyer can also say they need to ask their client first if something is private or not.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2136853.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Police and safetyCrime and justice > Criminal lawRights and equality > Privacy
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142: Effect of privilege on search warrants and search powers, or

"What happens if you say something is private and the police want to search it"

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144: Search warrant extending to certain other privileged materials, or

"Searching private info: following rules to respect people's privacy"

Part 4General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers
Privilege and confidentiality: Search warrants and other search powers

143Search warrants that extend to lawyers' premises or material held by lawyers

  1. This section applies to the execution of a search warrant that authorises the search of materials held by a lawyer relating to a client.

  2. If this section applies, the search warrant may not be executed unless—

  3. the lawyer is present; or
    1. a representative of the lawyer is present.

      1. If the person who is to execute the search warrant is unable to contact the lawyer or his or her representative, that person must instead contact the New Zealand Law Society and request that a person be appointed by the Society to represent the interests of the clients of the lawyer in relation to the search.

      2. Before executing the search warrant, the person who is to execute it must give the lawyer or his or her representative, or any person appointed by the New Zealand Law Society under subsection (3),—

      3. the opportunity to claim privilege on behalf of the lawyer's client; or
        1. the opportunity to make an interim claim of privilege if instructions have not been obtained from the client.