Evidence Act 2006

Admissibility rules, privilege, and confidentiality - Evidence of convictions and civil judgments

47: Conviction as evidence in civil proceedings

You could also call this:

"A conviction can be used as proof someone did something wrong in a civil court case."

If you are in a civil court case and it is important to know if someone committed a crime, proof that they were convicted of that crime is enough to say they did it. You can think of a conviction like a final decision that someone did something wrong. In a civil proceeding, this decision can be used as evidence.

But sometimes, in very unusual situations, the Judge might let someone show evidence that the person who was convicted did not actually commit the crime. The Judge might also decide that the court should figure out if the person committed the crime without using the conviction as evidence. This can happen even if the person who was convicted is not part of the court case.

This rule applies whether or not the person who was convicted is involved in the court case, and whether or not they pleaded guilty. It is also important to note that this rule is affected by section 48, which is another part of the law. There may be other laws that say a conviction is enough evidence in certain situations, and this rule does not change those laws.

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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=DLM393642.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Criminal law

46A: Caution regarding reliance on identification evidence, or

"Be careful when using evidence that identifies someone"

48: Conviction as evidence in defamation proceedings, or

"Using a past conviction as proof in a defamation court case"

Part 2Admissibility rules, privilege, and confidentiality
Evidence of convictions and civil judgments

47Conviction as evidence in civil proceedings

When the fact that a person has committed an offence is relevant to an issue in a civil proceeding, proof that the person has been convicted of that offence is conclusive proof that the person committed the offence.
Despite subsection (1), if the conviction of a person is proved under that subsection, the Judge may, in exceptional circumstances,—
permit a party to the proceeding to offer evidence tending to prove that the person convicted did not commit the offence for which the person was convicted; and
if satisfied that it is appropriate to do so, direct that the issue whether the person committed the offence be determined without reference to that subsection.

This section applies—
whether or not the person convicted is a party to the proceeding; and
whether or not the person was convicted on a guilty plea.

This section—
is subject to section 48; and
does not affect a provision in any other enactment to the effect that a conviction or a finding of fact in a criminal proceeding is to constitute conclusive evidence for the purposes of any other proceeding.