If you are a Judge in a court case, you cannot give evidence in that case. You are too closely involved in making decisions about the case. This helps keep the case fair.
If you are a juror or a lawyer, called counsel, in a court case, you usually cannot give evidence in that case. But you might be allowed to give evidence if the Judge says it is okay. The Judge gets to decide if it is fair for you to give evidence.
When we talk about counsel, we mean lawyers and also people who help others with employment problems, called employment advocates.
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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM393696.
71: Eligibility and compellability generally, or
"Who can give evidence in court and when they have to"
73: Compellability of defendants and associated defendants in criminal proceedings, or
"You can't be forced to testify against yourself in court, and some people connected to your case can't be forced to testify against you either."
A person who is acting as a Judge in a proceeding is not eligible to give evidence in that proceeding.
A person who is acting as a juror or counsel in a proceeding is not eligible to give evidence in that proceeding except with the permission of the Judge.
In this section, counsel includes an employment advocate.
