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Civil Aviation Act 2023

Monitoring, investigation, and enforcement - Evidence and proof

382: Evidence and proof in offence-related proceedings: aviation documents and New Zealand Register of Aircraft

You could also call this:

"Proving things in court using aviation documents and the New Zealand aircraft register"

Illustration for Civil Aviation Act 2023

When you are in court for something related to aviation, this section and section 383 are used. You can use a copy of an aviation document as proof if it is certified by the Director or someone the Director allows to do so. The Director is in charge of the Civil Aviation Authority, which is often called the CAA for short.

If someone gives you a certificate, you can usually trust it as proof unless someone proves it is wrong. An official certificate is a special kind of certificate that says something is true, like if someone has a certain kind of aviation document. This kind of certificate has to be signed or authenticated by the Director or someone the Director says can do it.

You can also use a certificate to prove what is in the New Zealand Register of Aircraft, which is a list of all the aircraft in New Zealand. This certificate has to be signed or authenticated by the Director or someone the Director allows to do so. Unless someone proves it is wrong, you can trust a certificate as proof of what it says.

A written statement from the Director can also be used as proof, as long as it is signed or authenticated by the Director. This kind of statement might say if someone has a medical certificate, which is a special kind of document that says someone is healthy enough to fly. The Director gets this information from Schedule 2 or from some older rules, including the Civil Aviation (Medical Certification) Amendment Act 2001.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS49819.

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383: Evidence and proof in offence-related proceedings: other matters, or

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Part 9Monitoring, investigation, and enforcement
Evidence and proof

382Evidence and proof in offence-related proceedings: aviation documents and New Zealand Register of Aircraft

  1. This section and section 383 apply in any proceedings for an offence against this Act.

  2. In the absence of proof to the contrary, a copy of any aviation document is sufficient to prove the contents of that document if the copy of the document is certified correct by—

  3. the Director; or
    1. any employee of the CAA authorised to do so by the Director.

      1. Unless the contrary is proved, an official certificate is sufficient evidence of the matter certified.

      2. In subsection (3), official certificate means a certificate—

      3. to the effect that on a specified date a person or an organisation was or was not the holder of—
        1. an aviation document; or
          1. a specified type of aviation document; and
          2. signed or otherwise authenticated by—
            1. the Director; or
              1. any employee of the CAA authorised to do so by the Director.

              2. Evidence of the contents of the New Zealand Register of Aircraft maintained under section 36 may be given by a certificate signed or otherwise authenticated by—

              3. the Director; or
                1. any employee of the CAA authorised in that behalf by the Director.

                  1. Unless the contrary is proved, every certificate is sufficient evidence of the matters stated in it.

                  2. Unless the contrary is proved, a written statement is sufficient evidence of the matter stated.

                  3. In subsection (7), written statement means a statement signed or otherwise authenticated by the Director to the effect that on a specified date a person was or was not the holder of a medical certificate issued under—

                  4. Schedule 2; or
                    1. the rules before the commencement of the Civil Aviation (Medical Certification) Amendment Act 2001.

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