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Evidence Act 2006

Trial process - Alternative ways of giving evidence - Giving of evidence by child witnesses

107: Alternative ways of giving evidence by child witnesses in criminal proceedings

You could also call this:

"How kids can give evidence in court in special ways"

Illustration for Evidence Act 2006

When you are a child witness in a criminal court case, you can give evidence in different ways. You can give evidence by a video recording made before the court hearing, or while you are in the courtroom but cannot see the defendant. You can also give evidence from a different room or even from another place in New Zealand or overseas.

The court will make sure that the judge, jury, and lawyers can see and hear you giving evidence, and that the defendant can see and hear you too, unless the judge says otherwise. If you give evidence by video recording, you can still give other parts of your evidence in a different way.

If someone wants you to be a witness, they must tell the court and the other people involved in the case how you will give your evidence. They usually have to do this when they file certain documents with the court, like a case management memorandum or a trial callover memorandum, as required by the Criminal Procedure Act 2011.

They must give the court and the other people involved notice of how you will give evidence, and they must do this on time. If it is no longer possible for you to give evidence in the way they first said, they can change their notice, but they must do this as soon as possible. You can find more information about giving evidence in court by looking at section 201 and section 106, and also sections 107A and 107B.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM393941.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Victim support
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"Special rules help keep child witnesses safe in court, like you if you're giving evidence."

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Part 3Trial process
Alternative ways of giving evidence: Giving of evidence by child witnesses

107Alternative ways of giving evidence by child witnesses in criminal proceedings

  1. A child witness, when giving evidence in a criminal proceeding, is entitled to give evidence in 1 or more alternative ways so that—

  2. the witness gives evidence in 1 or more of the following ways:
    1. by a video record made before the hearing of the proceeding:
      1. while in the courtroom but unable to see the defendant or some other specified person:
        1. from an appropriate place outside the courtroom, either in New Zealand or elsewhere:
        2. by use of any appropriate practical and technical means the Judge, the jury (if any), and any lawyers can see and hear the witness giving evidence, in accordance with any regulations made under section 201:
          1. the defendant can see and hear the witness, unless the Judge directs otherwise.

            1. If a video record is shown as a child witness’s evidence in chief, the witness is entitled to give the other parts of his or her evidence, including any further evidence in chief, in 1 or more other alternative ways.

            2. To avoid doubt, section 106 applies to a video record offered as an alternative way of giving evidence under this section.

            3. Any party intending to call a child witness must provide every other party and the court with a written notice stating the 1 or more alternative ways in which the witness will give his or her evidence.

            4. Unless a Judge permits otherwise, the notice required under subsection (4) must be given no later than when a case management memorandum (for a judge-alone trial) or a trial callover memorandum (for a jury trial) is filed under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011.

            5. If a party has given notice under subsection (4) and it is no longer possible or desirable for the witness to give evidence by the means stated in the notice, the party may file an amended notice but must do so as early as practicable before the case is to be tried.

            6. This section is subject to sections 107A and 107B.

            Notes
            • Section 107: replaced, on , by section 31 of the Evidence Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 44).