Juries Act 1981

Jury lists and panels

16A: Judge may order removal of trial if no courtroom available

You could also call this:

"The judge can move a trial to a different place if there's no suitable courtroom."

If you are going to be part of a trial, it might be held in a different place. This can happen if the judge thinks there is no suitable courtroom where the trial was supposed to be held. The judge can decide to move the trial to another place that is convenient. If the jurors have already been told to come to the original place, they might get new instructions to go to the new place instead. The judge will decide if it is practical to send out new instructions. You do not have to go to the new place if it is too far from your home, more than 45 km away, and in a different jury district. You can read more about how the jury panel is prepared in section 13. The rules about moving a trial to a new place are important to make sure the trial can happen. The judge's decision will help make sure the trial is held in a suitable place.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM44812.

This page was last updated on 25 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal help

16AA: Judge may cancel summons of person with disability or language difficulty, or

"Judge can cancel jury summons for people with disabilities or language struggles"

17: Jury to comprise 12 jurors, or

"A jury has 12 people in it to help make fair decisions."

16AJudge may order removal of trial if no courtroom available

Where a trial is to be held at any place within a jury district and the Judge before whom it is to be held is satisfied, at any time after the panel has been prepared in accordance with section 13, that no adequate courtroom is available at that place, he may order that the trial be held at some other convenient place, whether within or outside that jury district.
Where, in any case to which subsection (1) applies, the jurors have already been summoned, the Registrar shall issue fresh summonses unless the Judge considers that it would be impracticable to do so and instructs the Registrar accordingly.
No person is required to attend for jury service at the new venue if that venue is outside the jury district and is more than 45 km by the most practicable route from that person's place of residence.

Notes

Section 16A: inserted, on 17 December 1982, by section 2 of the Juries Amendment Act 1982 (1982 No 174).
Section 16A(3): replaced (with effect on 4 April 2010 for the constitution of jury lists and the preparation of new jury lists), on 4 October 2010, by section 4(4) of the Juries Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 40).