Search and Surveillance Act 2012

General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers - Procedures applying to seized or produced materials - Rights of owners and others in relation to things seized or produced

159: Application to District Court for release of thing seized or produced

You could also call this:

"Asking the court to return something that was taken from you"

If you are a person described in section 156(2), you can ask the District Court to release something that was taken by a person with search powers or given to them under a production order. The court can give you the thing back if it thinks it is unfair to keep it, considering things like how serious the alleged crime is. The court also thinks about how much you will lose if you do not get the thing back and how important it is as evidence.

The court looks at whether the evidence can be kept in another way, so the thing does not have to be kept. You might have to promise to do certain things or have someone promise for you if the court decides to give you the thing back. The court can also make you follow certain conditions, and some other rules like those in sections 156 and 157 might apply. There might be a law that says you have to pay some money before you can get the thing back, and that law would apply in this situation.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2136872.


Previous

158: Application to District Court for access to thing seized or produced, or

"Asking the District Court to see something that was taken from you"


Next

160: Disposal of unlawful items, or

"What happens to things that are against the law, like drugs, that the police take from you"

Part 4General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers
Procedures applying to seized or produced materials: Rights of owners and others in relation to things seized or produced

159Application to District Court for release of thing seized or produced

  1. A person described in section 156(2) may apply to the District Court for the release of any thing seized by a person exercising a search power or produced to a person under a production order.

  2. The court may release the thing to the applicant if it is satisfied that it would be contrary to the interests of justice for the item to be retained in custody, having regard to—

  3. the gravity of the alleged offence:
    1. any loss or damage to the applicant that is caused or likely to be caused by not returning the thing:
      1. the likely evidential value of the thing, having regard to any other evidence held by the law enforcement agency that employed or engaged the person who seized the thing or to whom the thing was produced:
        1. whether the evidential value of the thing can be adequately preserved by means other than by keeping it.
          1. A court may require sureties and impose conditions on a release under subsection (2), and sections 156 and 157 apply with any necessary modifications.

          2. This section is subject to any enactment that requires an amount of any kind to be paid before any seized thing may be returned.