Evidence Act 2006
The Evidence Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand that codifies the laws of evidence. When enacted, the Act drew together the common law and statutory provisions relating to evidence into one comprehensive scheme, replacing most of the previous evidence law on the admissibility and use of evidence in court proceedings. The foundations of the Act started in August 1989, when the Law Commission started work on reviewing the nation's piecemeal evidence laws. A decade of work culminated in August 1999 with the Commission producing a draft Evidence Code on which the Evidence Act is based. The Evidence Bill was introduced in May 2006 and passed its third and final reading on 23 November 2006. The majority of the Act came into force on 1 August 2007. Structure Part 1 — Preliminary provisions (s 6-15) Part 2 — Admissibility rules, privilege, and confidentiality Subpart 1 — Hearsay evidence (s 16-22A) Subpart 2 — Statements of opinion and expert evidence (s 23-26) Subpart 3 — Defendants’ statements, improperly obtained evidence, silence of parties in proceedings, and admissions in civil proceedings (s 27-34) Subpart 4 — Previous consistent statements made by witness (s 35) Subpart 5 — Veracity