New South Wales Consolidated Acts

EVIDENCE ACT 1995 - SECT 129

129 Exclusion of evidence of reasons for judicial etc decisions

(1) Evidence of the reasons for a decision made by a person who is:

(a) a judge in an Australian or overseas proceeding, or

(b) an arbitrator in respect of a dispute that has been submitted to the person, or to the person and one or more other persons, for arbitration,

or the deliberations of a person so acting in relation to such a decision, must not be given by the person, or a person who was, in relation to the proceeding or arbitration, under the direction or control of that person.

(2) Such evidence must not be given by tendering as evidence a document prepared by such a person.

(3) This section does not prevent the admission or use, in a proceeding, of published reasons for a decision.

(4) In a proceeding, evidence of the reasons for a decision made by a member of a jury in another Australian or overseas proceeding, or of the deliberations of a member of a jury in relation to such a decision, must not be given by any of the members of that jury.

(5) This section does not apply in a proceeding that is:

(a) a prosecution for one or more of the following offences:

(i) an offence against or arising under section 319, 321, 322 or 333 of the Crimes Act 1900 ,

(ii) an offence against or arising under section 67 of the Jury Act 1977 ,

(iii) an offence connected with an offence mentioned in subparagraph (i) or (ii), including an offence of conspiring to commit such an offence, or

(b) in respect of a contempt of a court, or

(c) by way of appeal from, or judicial review of, a judgment, decree, order or sentence of a court, or

(d) by way of review of an arbitral award, or

(e) a civil proceeding in respect of an act of a judicial officer or arbitrator that was, and that was known at the time by the judicial officer or arbitrator to be, outside the scope of the matters in relation to which the judicial officer or arbitrator had authority to act.

Note: Subsection (5) (a) differs from section 129 (5) (a) of the Commonwealth Act.