Elements of Evidence

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

This chapter identifies the purposes and principles of evidence law in order to
illustrate the requirements for admissibility and proof of facts. The Evidence
Act 2006 now regulates most issues of evidence law.

Question 2

Purpose of evidence law

Answer 2

Section 6 of the Evidence Act 2006 sets out the purpose of the Act. It also has
significance to the courts’ decisions when interpreting the Act, exercising the
courts’ inherent powers, and making decisions on the admissibility of
evidence when the Act or other enactment does not provide a ready answer.

The Act aims to “help secure the just determination of proceedings”
through the six objectives set out in s6:

6

Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to help secure the just determination of proceedings by—
(a) providing for facts to be established by the application of logical rules; and
(b) providing rules of evidence that recognise the importance of the rights affirmed
by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990; and
(c) promoting fairness to parties and witnesses; and
(d) protecting rights of confidentiality and other important public interests; and
(e) avoiding unjustifiable expense and delay; and
(f) enhancing access to the law of evidence.

The Act and admission of evidence must be interpreted in a way that
promotes the purposes and principles contained in ss 6, 7 and 8. In this way,
s6 will affect the decisions that are made about evidence in cases that you
present. However the Court in R v Barlien 10 said this cannot override explicit
exclusionary wording in the Act itself, even where such wording may be
thought to run counter to ss6, 7 and 8.

Outside of the Act, common law cases can be used to help decide which
evidence might be admitted, but only in so far as they are consistent with the
provisions of the Act and the promotion of its purposes and principles (s12).