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Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 2017

Assessment and treatment of persons suffering from severe substance addiction - Procedure

76: Attendance of patient at hearing

You could also call this:

"Going to a court hearing about your treatment: when you have to be there and when you don't"

Illustration for Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 2017

When you are a patient and there is a hearing about your treatment, you usually have to be there for the whole hearing. You might not have to be there if the court decides it is not a good idea for you to attend, or if a Judge thinks it would be better for you not to go. This can happen if you are going to be hurt by being at the hearing, or if you cannot understand what is going on.

The court can decide not to make you go to the hearing if they think you would get very upset or hurt by being there. They can also ask you to leave the hearing if you are being too noisy or disruptive and it is hard for them to keep going with the hearing. The court can make these decisions at any point during the hearing, and this applies to certain types of applications, such as those under section 29(c) or 34(1), where a Judge has already talked to you as set out in section 75.

The court has the power to make decisions about whether you should be at the hearing, and they can use this power at any time during the hearing.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6609228.

Topics:
Health and wellbeing > Mental healthCrime and justice > Courts and legal help
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75: Judge to interview patient before application for review heard, or

"A Judge talks to you before deciding about your treatment to hear your thoughts and views."

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77: Representation of persons entitled to be heard, and special rights of patient, or

"Your rights to speak and be heard at a court hearing about your treatment"

Part 2Assessment and treatment of persons suffering from severe substance addiction
Procedure

76Attendance of patient at hearing

  1. The patient must be present throughout the hearing of an application unless—

  2. the patient is excused or excluded by the court under subsection (2) or (3); or
    1. in the case of an application under section 29(c) or 34(1), the Judge who interviews the patient in accordance with section 75 certifies that it would be in the best interests of the patient to excuse the patient from attending the hearing.

      1. The court may excuse the patient from attending the hearing of an application if it is satisfied that the patient wholly lacks the capacity to understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings, or that attendance or continued attendance is likely to cause the patient serious mental, emotional, or physical harm.

      2. The court may exclude the patient from attending the hearing of an application if it is satisfied that the patient is causing a disturbance that makes it impracticable to continue with the hearing in his or her presence.

      3. A discretion conferred by this section may be exercised at any stage of the hearing.