Plain language law

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Evidence Act 2006

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

118: Witness in Police witness protection programme

You could also call this:

"Protecting witnesses in court with secret identities"

Illustration for Evidence Act 2006

If you are a witness in a court case and you are in a Police witness protection programme, you might get a new identity. You do not have to tell anyone in the court case what your new name is or anything else that could reveal who you really are. This rule applies if you got your new identity after the events that are the subject of the court case happened, and it is part of the law.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM393955.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpCrime and justice > Victim support
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117: Variation or discharge of witness anonymity order during trial, or

"A judge can change or cancel a secret witness order during a trial."

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119: Offences, or

"Breaking the law about evidence can lead to fines or prison time"

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

118Witness in Police witness protection programme

  1. If, at any time after the events that are the subject of a charge, a witness under a Police witness protection programme assumes a new identity, the witness may not be required in any proceeding concerning the charge to disclose his or her assumed name or any particulars likely to disclose his or her new identity.

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