Juries Act 1981

Jury lists and panels

15A: Registrar's discretion and duty to excuse from jury service permanently

You could also call this:

"When you don't have to be on a jury because of age or health issues"

You can be excused from jury service if you have a disability or health issue. The Registrar decides if you can be excused. You need to make a written application to the Registrar. You will be excused from jury service if you are 65 years or older. You need to make a written application to the Registrar. The Registrar must excuse you if you are 65 or older. If you are excused from jury service because of your age, you can ask to be included again. You need to make a written application to the Registrar. The Registrar will then cancel your excusal. The Registrar might ask for evidence to support your application. This is to help the Registrar make a decision. You can appeal if the Registrar declines your application. You can appeal to the court if the Registrar declines your application. You need to follow the jury rules to make an appeal. This is how you can appeal against the Registrar's decision.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM5165316.

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

Topics:

Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpGovernment and voting > Elections

15: Registrar's discretion and duty to excuse from jury service on particular occasion, or

16: Judge's discretion to excuse from jury service on particular occasion, or

15ARegistrar's discretion and duty to excuse from jury service permanently

The Registrar may excuse a person summoned to attend as a juror on an occasion from attending in any court on any occasion if satisfied, on a written application for the purpose made by or on behalf of the person, that, because of the person's disability or state of health, the person would not, if required to attend as a juror in any court on any occasion, be able to perform a juror's duties satisfactorily.
The Registrar must excuse a person summoned to attend as a juror on an occasion from attending in any court on any occasion if satisfied, on a written application for the purpose made by or on behalf of the person, that the person is of or over the age of 65 years.
The Registrar must cancel a person's permanent excusal under subsection (2) promptly after receiving a written application for the purpose made by or on behalf of the person.
The Registrar may ask a person to provide evidence in support of an application under this section if the Registrar reasonably thinks that evidence of that kind is necessary in order to determine the application.
If the Registrar declines an application under this section, the applicant may, in accordance with the jury rules, appeal against that decision to the court before which the applicant is summoned to appear.

Notes

Section 15A: inserted, on 29 April 2013, by section 11 of the Juries (Jury Service and Protection of Particulars of Jury List Information) Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 75).