248Certificates and official documents

1. Subject to subsection (8), in any proceedings for an offence against this Act—

2. any certificate signed by any person holding a public office or exercising a function of a public nature under the law of New Zealand or of a foreign country, stating any matter contained or not contained in a public document; or
3. a public document; or
4. a certified copy of a public document, which copy contains on its face a statement signed by or under the seal of any of the persons specified in paragraph (a) certifying that the document is a true copy of the relevant public document—
shall be admissible in evidence and shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be sufficient evidence of its contents.

5. For the purposes of this Part, the term public document means a document that—

6. forms part of the records of the legislative, executive, or judicial branch of the Government of New Zealand, or of a person or body holding a public office or exercising a function of a public nature under the law of New Zealand; or
7. forms part of the records of the legislative, executive, or judicial branch of the Government of a foreign country, or of a person or body holding a public office or exercising a function of a public nature under the law of a foreign country; or
8. forms part of the records of an international organisation whose membership is primarily composed of sovereign States; or
9. is being kept by or on behalf of a branch of Government, person, body, or organisation referred to in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) or paragraph (c).

10. The imprint of a seal that appears on a public document or certificate and purports to be the imprint of the Seal of New Zealand, or the former Public Seal of New Zealand, or one of the seals of the United Kingdom on a public document or certificate relating to New Zealand, is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been sealed as it purports to have been sealed.

11. The imprint of a seal that appears on a public document or certificate and purports to be the imprint of the seal of a body (including a court or tribunal) exercising a function of a public nature under the law of New Zealand is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be the imprint of that seal, and the public document or certificate is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been sealed as it purports to have been sealed.

12. The imprint of a seal that appears on a public document or certificate and purports to be the imprint of the seal of a person holding a public office or exercising a function of a public nature under the law of New Zealand is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be the imprint of that seal, and the public document or certificate is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been sealed as it purports to have been sealed.

13. A public document, certified copy of a public document, or certificate that purports to have been signed by a person as the holder of a public office or in the exercise of a function of a public nature under the law of New Zealand is presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been signed by that person acting in his or her official capacity.

14. Subject to subsection (8), if, in any proceedings for an offence against this Act, the prosecution tenders evidence that has been produced wholly or partly by a machine, device, or technical process, and the machine, device, or technical process is of a kind that ordinarily does what the prosecution asserts the machine, device, or technical process has done, then, in the absence of proof to the contrary, the evidence shall be admissible and sufficient proof that, on the relevant occasion, the machine, device, or technical process operated in the way asserted by the prosecution.

15. Any certificate referred to in subsection (1) or evidence referred to in subsection (7) shall be admissible only if—

16. at least 20 working days before the hearing at which the certificate or evidence is to be tendered, a copy of that certificate or summary of that evidence is served, by or on behalf of the prosecutor, on the defendant or the defendant's agent or counsel, and that person is at the same time informed in writing that the prosecutor does not propose to call the person who signed the certificate or summary as a witness at the hearing; and
17. the court has not, on the application of the defendant made within 10 working days after receipt of the certificate or evidence referred to in paragraph (a), ordered, not less than 5 working days before the hearing (or such lesser period as the court in the special circumstances of the case thinks fit), that the certificate or evidence is inadmissible as evidence in the proceedings.

18. The court shall not make an order under subsection (8) unless it is satisfied that there is reasonable doubt as to—

19. the accuracy of the information contained or referred to in the certificate or summary of evidence; or
20. the validity of the certificate or summary of evidence.