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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

The Tenancy Tribunal - Procedure

98: Witness summons

You could also call this:

“Legal document that tells someone they must come to court to give information or bring something important”

The Tribunal can ask someone to come to a hearing as a witness. They can do this on their own or if someone in the case asks them to. The Tribunal will write a witness summons, which tells the person they need to come and give evidence or bring documents that are important for the case.

The Tribunal or the Registrar can issue a witness summons. They must give the summons to the witness at least 5 working days before the hearing, unless there’s a special reason to give it later.

If you’re asked to be a witness, you’ll get money for your travel costs and fees. The Tribunal decides who pays this money, or sometimes the government pays.

You can ask the Tribunal to cancel the summons if you think it’s asking for private information or if it’s too hard for you to follow. The summons must be in a form that the chief executive of the Ministry of Justice and the Principal Tenancy Adjudicator have agreed on.

The summons will tell you that you have the right to ask the Tribunal to cancel it if you think it’s asking for private information or if it’s too hard for you to follow.

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 It might be out of date or be missing some parts.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=DLM95913.

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Part 3 The Tenancy Tribunal
Procedure

98Witness summons

  1. For the purposes of a hearing before the Tribunal, the Tribunal may of its own motion, and shall on the application of any party to the proceedings, issue in writing a witness summons requiring the person named in the witness summons to attend before the Tribunal and to give evidence, or to produce any document or thing in that person's possession or under that person's control, relevant to the proceedings.

  2. The power to issue a witness summons under subsection (1) may be exercised by the Tribunal, or by the Registrar acting by the direction, or with the authority, of the Tribunal.

  3. A witness summons shall be served at least 5 working days before the date on which the attendance of the witness is required, unless in special circumstances the Tribunal directs otherwise.

  4. Every witness attending a hearing of the Tribunal pursuant to a witness summons shall be entitled to a sum for that witness's travelling allowances, travelling expenses, and fees at the rate for the time being prescribed, except that, in any particular case, the Tribunal may disallow the whole or any part of that sum if it considers it just to do so.

  5. The allowances, travelling expenses, and fees payable to a witness pursuant to subsection (4) shall be paid by such party or parties to the proceedings as the Tribunal shall order or, if the Tribunal so decides, shall be paid out of money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.

  6. A witness summons may be set aside by the Tribunal or by the Principal Tenancy Adjudicator if the Tribunal or the Principal Tenancy Adjudicator considers that the summons relates to documents in respect of which any person may have a claim of privilege against disclosure, or that the summons is oppressive, whether because it is too wide or too uncertain or because of lack of time for the person served with the summons to have a reasonable opportunity to comply with it, or for any other reason.

  7. A witness summons must be in a form approved by the chief executive of the Ministry of Justice after consulting the Principal Tenancy Adjudicator.

  8. Every witness summons shall include a statement informing the person summoned of the right to apply to the Tribunal under subsection (6) to have the summons set aside on the ground that it relates to privileged documents or that compliance with it would be oppressive to that person.

Notes
  • Section 98(6A): inserted, on , by section 262 of the Tribunals Powers and Procedures Legislation Act 2018 (2018 No 51).