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Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

Investigation and summary trial of charges - Miscellaneous matters - Evidence

117ZK: Relevant evidence admissible unless excluded

You could also call this:

"The court can use evidence that is relevant and fair to help decide a case."

Illustration for Armed Forces Discipline Act 1971

You can use evidence in court if it is relevant to the case. Evidence is relevant if it helps prove or disprove something important in the case. The court can stop evidence from being used if it is not fair or if it will make the case take too long. You can use all relevant evidence in proceedings under this Part and Part 5A except evidence that is excluded. The court must exclude evidence if it will have an unfairly prejudicial effect or needlessly prolong the proceedings. The court can also ask a witness to answer a question in proceedings under this Part or Part 5A, as long as it follows the rules. The disciplinary officer or the Summary Appeal Court makes these decisions, and they must follow the rules in section 150B and other parts of the law. They can require a witness to answer a question, but only if it is relevant and fair. This helps ensure the case is decided fairly and quickly.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2096989.

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Part 5Investigation and summary trial of charges
Miscellaneous matters: Evidence

117ZKRelevant evidence admissible unless excluded

  1. All relevant evidence is admissible in proceedings under this Part and Part 5A except evidence that is excluded under subsection (4).

  2. Evidence that is not relevant is not admissible in proceedings under this Part or Part 5A.

  3. Evidence is relevant in proceedings if it has a tendency to prove or disprove anything that is of consequence to the determination of the proceedings.

  4. The disciplinary officer or the Summary Appeal Court must exclude evidence if its probative value is outweighed by the risk that the evidence will—

  5. have an unfairly prejudicial effect on the outcome of the proceedings; or
    1. needlessly prolong the proceedings.

      1. The disciplinary officer or the Summary Appeal Court may, subject to subsections (1) to (4) and section 150B, require a witness to answer a question that is put to them in proceedings under this Part or Part 5A (whether by the disciplinary officer, the court, a presenting officer, a defending officer, or any other counsel appearing in the proceedings).

      Notes
      • Section 117ZK: inserted, on , by section 37 of the Armed Forces Discipline Amendment Act (No 2) 2007 (2007 No 98).