Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

EVIDENCE AND PROCEDURE (NEW ZEALAND) ACT 1994 - SECT 3

             (1)  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

"court" includes the extended meaning given in section 4.

"document" means any record of information, and includes:

                     (a)  anything on which there is writing; or

                     (b)  anything on which there are marks, figures, symbols or perforations having a meaning for persons qualified to interpret them; or

                     (c)  anything from which sounds, images or writings can be reproduced with or without the aid of anything else; or

                     (d)  a map, plan, drawing or photograph.

"expenses" , in relation to a subpoena, include the reasonable costs of:

                     (a)  necessary travel to and from, and accommodation at, the place where complying with the subpoena is required; or

                     (b)  finding, collating and producing a document or thing; for the purposes of complying with the subpoena.

"family proceeding" means a proceeding relating to:

                     (a)  guardianship of a child; or

                     (b)  custody of a child; or

                     (c)  access to a child; or

                     (d)  marriage or divorce; or

                     (e)  maintenance of a child; or

                      (f)  maintenance of a spouse or former spouse; or

                     (g)  property arising out of a marital relationship or a de facto relationship (including a former marital relationship or a former de facto relationship), being property owned by one of the spouses or both of them; or

                     (h)  paternity; or

                      (i)  adoption; or

                      (j)  protection of persons from domestic violence or domestic molestation; or

                     (k)  the status or property of a person who is not fully able to manage his or her own affairs.

"fax" , in relation to a document, means a copy of the document that has been reproduced by facsimile telegraphy.

"federal court" includes the extended meaning given in section 4.

"inferior court" means a court that is not a superior court.

"New Zealand Act" means an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand.

"New Zealand Minister" means a Minister of the Crown of New Zealand.

"official instrument" includes a proclamation, commission, appointment,warrant or order.

"person named" , in relation to a subpoena, means the person to whom the subpoena is addressed.

"public document" includes:

                     (a)  a record required by New Zealand law to be kept of a public document or proceeding; or

                     (b)  an entry in a public register or book; or

                     (c)  a certificate issued by a New Zealand officer under New Zealand law.

"spouse" includes de facto spouse.

"subpoena" means a subpoena to give evidence, a subpoena for production or a subpoena that is both a subpoena to give evidence and a subpoena for production, but does not include a process that requires a person to produce a document in connection with discovery and inspection of documents.

"subpoena for production" means a process that requires the person named to attend as directed by the order and produce a document or thing for the purpose of evidence.

"subpoena to give evidence" means a process that requires the person named to attend as directed by the order for the purpose of giving evidence.

"superior court" means:

                     (a)  the High Court; or

                     (b)  the Federal Court of Australia or the Family Court of Australia; or

                     (c)  the Supreme Court of a State or Territory.

             (2)  A reference in this Act to a subpoena issued by a court is a reference to a subpoena issued by or out of the court.