Evidence Act 2006

Preliminary provisions - General

5: Application

You could also call this:

"Which laws to follow when there's a disagreement about the rules"

If there is an inconsistency between the Evidence Act 2006 and another law, the other law is used, unless the Evidence Act 2006 says otherwise. You need to follow the rules of the other law in this case.

If there are inconsistencies between court rules and the Evidence Act 2006, the Evidence Act 2006 is used. This is because the Act has special rules that override the court rules.

The Evidence Act 2006 applies to all court cases that started before, on, or after the Act came into effect, but it does not apply to cases where a hearing had already started or to appeals from those cases.

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This page was last updated on 29 June 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM393564.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal help

4A: Transitional, savings, and related provisions, or

"Special rules to help with the change to the new Evidence Act 2006 law"

6: Purpose, or

"The Purpose of the Evidence Act 2006 is to make sure everyone gets a fair hearing by using common sense and following rules that respect people's rights."

Part 1Preliminary provisions
General

5Application

If there is an inconsistency between the provisions of this Act and any other enactment, the provisions of that other enactment prevail, unless this Act provides otherwise.
Despite subsection (1), if there is any inconsistency between rules of court made under any enactment with the concurrence of 2 or more members of the Rules Committee and this Act, the provisions of this Act prevail.
This Act applies to all proceedings commenced before, on, or after the commencement of this section except—
the continuation of a hearing that commenced before the commencement of this section; and
any appeal from, or review of, a determination made at a hearing of that kind.

Notes

Section 5(3): amended, on 4 July 2007, by section 4 of the Evidence Amendment Act 2007 (2007 No 24).
Section 5(3)(a): amended, on 4 July 2007, by section 4 of the Evidence Amendment Act 2007 (2007 No 24).