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Financial Markets Authority Act 2011

General information-gathering and enforcement powers - Miscellaneous provisions relating to powers - Privileges

56: Witnesses and counsel to have privileges of witnesses and counsel in court

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“People talking to the FMA have the same rights as in court”

When you talk to the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), its members, employees, or people they’ve chosen to help them, you have the same rights as someone talking in court. This means you can keep some information private if you need to.

If the FMA asks you questions because they’re helping a regulator from another country, you don’t have to say anything that might get you in trouble. This is called the right against self-incrimination. It works the same way for crimes in other countries as it does for crimes in New Zealand.

You might have other rights to keep information private too. These other rights still apply even when you’re talking to the FMA about helping a foreign regulator.

If you have a lawyer with you when you talk to the FMA or its representatives, your lawyer has the same rights as they would in court. This means they can help protect your interests just like they would if you were in a courtroom.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3231748.

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Part 3 General information-gathering and enforcement powers
Miscellaneous provisions relating to powers: Privileges

56Witnesses and counsel to have privileges of witnesses and counsel in court

  1. Every person has the same privileges in relation to providing information and documents to, and answering questions before, the FMA, a member or an employee or a delegate of the FMA, or a person authorised under section 52, as witnesses have in proceedings before a court.

  2. If a power under section 25 or the FMA's power to receive evidence is exercised for the purposes of complying with a request from an overseas regulator under section 31 or otherwise co-operating with an overseas regulator, the person in respect of whom the power is exercised has the privilege against self-incrimination referred to in section 60 of the Evidence Act 2006 applied with all necessary modifications as if the reference to an offence under New Zealand law were a reference to an offence under foreign law.

  3. Subsection (2) does not limit any other privilege that the person may have.

  4. Every person appearing as counsel before the FMA, or a member or an employee or a delegate of the FMA, has the same privileges as counsel have in proceedings before a court.

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