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Criminal Procedure Act 2011

General provisions - Public access and restrictions on reporting - Power to clear court

198A: Hearing may be conducted by audiovisual link or audio link

You could also call this:

"Court hearings can be held using video or phone links so people can join in from elsewhere."

Illustration for Criminal Procedure Act 2011

When you are in court, the judge can decide to hold a hearing using an audiovisual link or an audio link. This means you can see and hear people who are not in the courtroom, or just hear them, if the judge decides that is what should happen. The court can also ask some people, like the media or the public, to join the hearing using an audiovisual link or an audio link.

If the court uses an audio link, it means people can hear each other, even if they are not in the same room. If the court uses an audiovisual link, it means people can see and hear each other, even if they are not in the same room. This can happen when some people are not physically in the courtroom for all or part of the hearing.

The court's decision to use an audiovisual link or an audio link does not change what is said in sections 196 to 198.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS986918.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Criminal law
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Part 5General provisions
Public access and restrictions on reporting: Power to clear court

198AHearing may be conducted by audiovisual link or audio link

  1. Nothing in sections 196 to 198 limits or affects the ability of a court to conduct a hearing wholly or partly by audiovisual link (AVL) or audio link (AL) and to require some or all members of the media or the public who wish to observe the hearing to attend by AVL or AL.

  2. For the purposes of subsection (1),—

    audio link or AL, in relation to a proceeding, means facilities that enable audio communication between, or to be received by, participants when some or all of them are not physically present at the place of hearing for all or part of the proceeding

      audiovisual link or AVL, in relation to a proceeding, means facilities that enable both audio and visual communication between, or to be received by, participants when some or all of them are not physically present at the place of hearing for all or part of the proceeding.

      Notes
      • Section 198A: inserted, on , by section 10 of the Courts (Remote Participation) Amendment Act 2024 (2024 No 33).