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Criminal Procedure Act 2011

Commencement of proceedings and preliminary steps - Notifying defendant of court appearance

28: Summons in relation to charge may be served

You could also call this:

"When someone thinks you've done something wrong, they can give you a special paper called a summons to go to court."

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

A constable or another person can give you a summons if they think you might have done something wrong. They must have a good reason to think this and they must have, or plan to have, a charging document about what they think you did. You get a summons when someone thinks you did something wrong and they want to take you to court. The rules about summons do not apply if someone is doing a private prosecution, which is when someone other than the police takes someone to court, or if you have been arrested or released on Police bail for the offence.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3360071.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal lawCrime and justice > Courts and legal help
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"The Registrar can organise charging information to make it easier to use."

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29: Summons following evidential breath test, or

"Getting a summons after failing a breath test"

Part 2Commencement of proceedings and preliminary steps
Notifying defendant of court appearance

28Summons in relation to charge may be served

  1. A constable or any other person may issue and serve a summons on a person if that constable or other person—

  2. has good cause to suspect that the person has committed an offence; and
    1. has filed, or intends to file, a charging document in respect of that offence.

      1. Nothing in this section applies in respect of a private prosecution or proposed private prosecution.

      2. Nothing in this section allows a summons to be issued in respect of an offence for which a person has been arrested under a warrant or released on Police bail.

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