This Act is the Inquiries Act 2013.
Inquiries Act 2013
| Jurisdiction | New Zealand |
| Citation | 2013 No 60 |
| Reference | 2013 No 60 |
| Record Number | DLM1566100 |
| Act Number | 60 |
| Type of Document | Act |
This Act comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.
The purpose of this Act is to reform and modernise the law relating to inquiries, by—
- providing for the establishment of both public and government inquiries to inquire into matters of public importance; and
- recognising and providing for Royal commissions established under the Royal prerogative; and
- enabling those inquiries to be carried out effectively, efficiently, and fairly.
The Act therefore sets out, in relation to any inquiry to which this Act applies,—
- how an inquiry is set up and its members are to be appointed; and
- the powers, duties, and privileges of an inquiry and the immunities that apply to the inquiry and its members; and
- the protection available for witnesses and counsel appearing before an inquiry; and
- the principles governing the procedure of an inquiry, including those relating to evidential matters; and
- provision for recourse to the court by, or in relation to, an inquiry; and
- sanctions that may be applied by or on behalf of an inquiry.
The Act also makes provision for—
- the repeal of sections 2 and 15 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908, which provide, respectively, for the appointment of a commission of inquiry and the extension of that Act to commissions appointed under other Acts or under the Letters Patent; and
- the continuing application of the remaining provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908 in specified circumstances.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
appointing Minister means 1 or more Ministers of the Crown who establish a government inquiry under section 6(3)
appropriate Minister means the Minister of the Crown who, under the authority of any warrant or with the authority of the Prime Minister, is responsible for the relevant department
core participant has the meaning it is given in section 17
document has the same meaning that it is given in section 4(1) of the Evidence Act 2006
establishment instrument means—
- an Order in Council made under section 6(2); or
- a
expert opinion means the opinion of an expert based on the specialised knowledge or skill of that expert
government inquiry means an inquiry established under section 6(3)
information, in relation to the power of an inquiry to obtain or disclose information, includes matters of expert opinion as well as of fact
inquiry means both a public inquiry and a government inquiry, as provided for by section 6
member means a member of an inquiry established under section 6
officer of an inquiry means a person who is engaged to work for an inquiry
public inquiry—
- means an inquiry established under section 6(2); and
- includes a Royal commission
relevant department means—
- the Department of Internal Affairs; or
- another department of State, if the other department is appointed, under the terms of reference for the inquiry, to be responsible for administrative matters relating to the inquiry.
This Act binds the Crown.
This Act applies to the following kinds of inquiry:
- Royal commissions established under the authority of the Letters Patent constituting the office of the Governor-General, and this Act applies to Royal commissions as if they were public inquiries:
- public inquiries, which are established in accordance with subsection (2):
- government inquiries, which are established in accordance with subsection (3).
The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, establish a public inquiry for the purpose of inquiring into, and reporting on, any matter of public importance.
One or more Ministers may, by notice in the Gazette, establish a government inquiry for the purpose of inquiring into, and reporting on, any matter of public importance.
An order under subsection (2) is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).
The establishment instrument to establish an inquiry must—
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