Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993

Classification of publications - Referral of publications by courts

29: Character of publications arising in court proceedings

You could also call this:

"What happens when a court needs to decide if a publication is okay or not"

Illustration for Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993

When you are in court and a question comes up about a publication, the court will send the question to the Classification Office to decide. You need to know if the publication is objectionable or not, and the Classification Office will have the final say. The court will ask the Classification Office to look at the publication and decide if it is objectionable, and if so, under what circumstances. If you are the defendant in a court case and you agree that a publication is objectionable, the court might not send the question to the Classification Office. The court can accept your admission and make a decision without sending it to the Classification Office. This can happen if you agree that the publication is objectionable, or if you agree that it is objectionable under certain circumstances. If the Classification Office has already made a decision about a publication, the court can use that decision as proof. You can use a certified copy of the decision from the Classification Office as proof in court, and the court will accept it. The court will not need to send the question to the Classification Office again if they already have a decision, as per section 41.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM313463.

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28: Further provisions relating to conditions on public display of restricted publications, or

"Rules for Displaying Restricted Publications in Public"

30: Report of findings to be sent to court, or

"The court gets a report on a publication's classification."

Part 3Classification of publications
Referral of publications by courts

29Character of publications arising in court proceedings

Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), where in any civil or criminal proceedings before a court (including any proceedings under section 116 but not including proceedings under section 67) a question arises whether any publication—
is objectionable; or
is objectionable except in any 1 or more of the following circumstances:
1. if the availability of the publication is restricted to persons who have attained a specified age:
2. if the availability of the publication is restricted to specified persons or classes of persons:
3. if the publication is used for 1 or more specified purposes,—

Where in any civil or criminal proceedings the defendant admits that a publication—
is objectionable; or
is objectionable except in any 1 or more of the circumstances referred to in subsection (1)(b),—

Where the Classification Office or the Board has classified a publication under this Act, the production in any proceedings of a copy, certified by the Classification Office, of the entry in the register recording that decision, together with a certificate from the Classification Office that the decision is still in force, shall be sufficient proof in any court of the decision, and if that decision is conclusive proof of the classification of that publication under section 41, the court shall dispense with a reference to the Classification Office in those proceedings.

Compare

1963 No 22 s 12
1987 No 85 s 20
1990 No 59 s 4

Notes

Section 29(1): amended, on 5 December 2017, by section 7 of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification (Interim Restriction Orders) Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 43).