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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Evidence Act 2006

Admissibility rules, privilege, and confidentiality - Hearsay evidence

16: Interpretation

You could also call this:

"Understanding what words mean in the law"

Illustration for Evidence Act 2006

When you are reading about the law, you need to understand what some words mean. A business is any kind of work or activity that people do. This includes things that the government and companies do.

You also need to know what a business record is. A business record is a document that is made to record something that happened. It is made by someone who knows about what happened.

There are some things that are not business records, like Police records of interviews with witnesses. You should know that a duty is something that you have to do, either because the law says so or because you promised to do it.

Sometimes, people cannot be witnesses in court. This can be because they are dead, or because they are too sick to come to court. It can also be because they are in another country and cannot come to New Zealand.

If someone has done something to stop a person from being a witness, then that person is still allowed to be a witness. You can find more information about this in the Evidence Amendment Act 2016.

When you hear someone talk about the circumstances of something, they are talking about what happened and why. This includes what someone said, what they saw, and whether they are telling the truth.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM393581.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
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15: Evidence given to establish admissibility, or

"Using evidence to decide if other evidence is allowed in court"

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17: Hearsay rule, or

"What is the 'Hearsay rule': a rule that says you usually can't use what someone else said as evidence in court"

Part 2Admissibility rules, privilege, and confidentiality
Hearsay evidence

16Interpretation

  1. In this subpart,—

    business—

    1. means any business, profession, trade, manufacture, occupation, or calling of any kind; and
      1. includes the activities of any department of State, local authority, public body, body corporate, organisation, or society

        business record—

        1. means a document—
          1. that is made—
            1. to comply with a duty; or
              1. in the course of a business, and as a record or part of a record of that business; and
              2. that is made from information supplied directly or indirectly by a person who had, or may reasonably be supposed by the court to have had, personal knowledge of the matters dealt with in the information he or she supplied; but
              3. does not include a Police record that contains any statement or interview by or with an eyewitness, or a complainant, or any other person who purports to have knowledge or information about the circumstances of alleged offending or the issues in dispute in a civil proceeding

                circumstances, in relation to a statement by a person who is not a witness, include—

                1. the nature of the statement; and
                  1. the contents of the statement; and
                    1. the circumstances that relate to the making of the statement; and
                      1. any circumstances that relate to the veracity of the person; and
                        1. any circumstances that relate to the accuracy of the observation of the person

                          duty includes any duty imposed by law or arising under any contract, and any duty recognised in carrying on any business practice.

                          1. For the purposes of this subpart, a person is unavailable as a witness in a proceeding if the person—

                          2. is dead; or
                            1. is outside New Zealand and it is not reasonably practicable for him or her to be a witness; or
                              1. is unfit to be a witness because of age or physical or mental condition; or
                                1. cannot with reasonable diligence be identified or found; or
                                  1. is not compellable to give evidence.

                                    1. Subsection (2) does not apply to a person whose statement is sought to be offered in evidence by a party who has caused the person to be unavailable in order to prevent the person from attending or giving evidence.

                                    Notes
                                    • Section 16(1) business record: replaced, on , by section 6 of the Evidence Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 44).