Evidence Act 2006

Trial process - Corroboration, judicial directions, and judicial warnings

125: Judicial directions about children’s evidence

You could also call this:

"Courts must treat evidence from children fairly and not assume it's untrue just because they're kids."

When you are in a court case with a jury and the person who made a complaint is a child, the Judge will not warn the jury to be careful just because the child's story is not backed up by someone else. The Judge would only do this if the person who made the complaint was an adult. This rule helps make sure the jury treats the child's evidence fairly.

If a child is a witness in a court case with a jury, the Judge will not tell the jury to be extra careful with what the child says unless an expert says that is necessary. The Judge will also not suggest that children often make things up or change their stories unless an expert says that is necessary. This helps make sure the jury listens to the child's evidence without having preconceived ideas.

The Judge still has the power to warn or inform the jury about children's evidence in other ways, as long as they follow the rules made under section 201. This means the Judge can still give guidance to the jury, but they must do it in a way that is fair and follows the rules. You can find more information about these rules by looking at the regulations made under section 201.

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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=DLM393964.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal help

124: Judicial warnings about lies, or

"When you might have lied in court, the Judge helps the jury understand what it means"

126: Judicial warnings about identification evidence, or

"Be careful when someone says they saw the person who did something wrong, as they might be mistaken"

Part 3Trial process
Corroboration, judicial directions, and judicial warnings

125Judicial directions about children’s evidence

In a criminal proceeding tried with a jury in which the complainant is a child at the time when the proceeding commences, the Judge must not give any warning to the jury about the absence of corroboration of the evidence of the complainant if the Judge would not have given that kind of a warning had the complainant been an adult.
In a proceeding tried with a jury in which a witness is a child, the Judge must not, unless expert evidence is given in that proceeding supporting the giving of the following direction or the making of the following comment:
instruct the jury that there is a need to scrutinise the evidence of children generally with special care; or
suggest to the jury that children generally have tendencies to invent or distort.

This section does not affect any other power of the Judge to warn or inform the jury about children’s evidence exercised in accordance with the requirements of regulations made under section 201.