Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Evidence Act 2006

Trial process - Eligibility and compellability

75: Bank officer not compellable to produce banking records

You could also call this:

"Bank staff don't have to show bank records in court if the bank isn't part of the case."

If you work at a bank, you do not have to show banking records in court if the bank is not involved in the case. You can use section 19 to prove what is in those records instead. This means you do not have to appear in court as a witness to talk about what is in the records.

A judge can still order you to show the records or appear in court if there is a special reason for it. When we talk about a bank in this law, we mean a registered bank, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, or any other business that does banking in New Zealand.

You can find out what a registered bank is by looking at section 2 of the Banking (Prudential Supervision) Act 1989.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM393901.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpMoney and consumer rights > Banking and loans
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"Some important people can't be forced to give evidence in court"

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Part 3Trial process
Eligibility and compellability

75Bank officer not compellable to produce banking records

  1. In any proceedings to which a bank is not a party, no officer of the bank is compellable—

  2. to produce any banking record of the bank, the contents of which can be proved under section 19; or
    1. to appear as a witness to prove the matters, transactions, and amounts recorded in those records.

      1. Subsection (1) is subject to any contrary order of a Judge made for a special reason.

      2. In this section, bank means—

      3. a registered bank within the meaning of section 2 of the Banking (Prudential Supervision) Act 1989:
        1. the Reserve Bank of New Zealand:
          1. any other person carrying on in New Zealand the business of banking.

            Notes
            • Section 75(3)(a): amended, on , by section 300(1) of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 2021 (2021 No 31).