AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION ACT 2001 - SECT 219 Failure of witnesses to attend and answer questions

AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION ACT 2001 - SECT 219

  (1)   A person served, as prescribed, with a summons to appear as a witness at a hearing must not:

  (a)   fail to attend as required by the summons; or

  (b)   fail to attend from day to day unless excused, or released from further attendance, by the Panel Chairperson.

  (2)   A person appearing as a witness at a hearing must not:

  (a)   when required pursuant to subsection   217(2) to either take an oath or make an affirmation--refuse or fail to comply with the requirement; or

  (b)   refuse or fail to answer a question that he or she is required to answer by the Panel Chairperson; or

  (c)   refuse or fail to produce a document that he or she was required to produce by a summons under subsection   217(1) served on him or her as prescribed.

  (2A)   Subsections   (1) and (2) do not apply to the extent that the person has a reasonable excuse.

Note:   A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in this subsection, see subsection   13.3(3) of the Criminal Code .

  (3)   A person must not, at a hearing, give evidence that is false or misleading.

  (4)   A person must not contravene subsection   (1), (2) or (3).

Penalty:   3 months imprisonment.

  (5)   A person who contravenes subsection   (3) is not guilty of an offence against subsection   (4) if it is proved that he or she, when giving the evidence, believed on reasonable grounds that it was true and not misleading.

  (6)   Where the Panel is satisfied that:

  (a)   a person served, as prescribed, with a summons to appear as a witness at a hearing has, without reasonable excuse, failed to attend as required by paragraph   (1)(a) or (b); or

  (b)   a person appearing as a witness at a hearing has, without reasonable excuse:

  (i)   when required pursuant to subsection   217(2) either to take an oath or make an affirmation; or

  (ii)   when required by the Panel Chairperson to answer a question; or

  (iii)   when required to produce a document by a summons under subsection   217(1) served on him or her as prescribed;

    refused or failed to comply with the requirement;

the Panel Chairperson may, by instrument in writing, certify the failure to attend or the refusal or failure to comply with the requirement, as the case may be, to the Court.

  (7)   Where a certificate is given under subsection   (6), the Court may inquire into the case and, if it is satisfied that the person to whom the certificate relates has, without reasonable excuse, failed to attend or refused or failed to comply with a requirement as mentioned in the certificate:

  (a)   may order the person to attend or to comply with the requirement at a hearing to be held at a time and place specified in the order; or

  (b)   may punish the person in the same manner as if he or she had been guilty of contempt of the Court and, if it thinks fit, also make an order under paragraph   (a).