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Court Procedures Rules
2903Inspection of registry files
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2903 Inspection of registry files
(1) Anyone may search the registry for, inspect, or take a copy of, any
document filed in the registry.
Note 1 For a family or personal violence proceeding, a party to the proceeding
may inspect, or take a copy of, a document filed in the registry provided
the document does not include an affected person’s home or work address
or other information that may allow the affected person to be located (see
r 3802 (2) (s)).
Note 2 Rule 4053 (Criminal proceedings—inspection of registry files) applies to
documents filed in criminal proceedings.
(2) However, the registrar must not allow a person who is not a party to
a proceeding to search the registry for, inspect, or take a copy of, any
of the following documents about the proceeding unless the person
appears to the registrar to have a sufficient interest in the document
or the court gives leave:
(a) an order, transcript of the proceeding, or any other document,
that the court has ordered to be kept confidential;
(b) an affidavit that has not been read in court;
(c) a part of an affidavit ruled to be inadmissible in evidence;
(d) an interrogatory, or an answer to an interrogatory, that has not
been admitted into evidence;
(e) a list of documents given on discovery;
(f) an admission that has not been admitted into evidence;
(g) a subpoena;
Note Rule 6609 (Inspection of, and dealing with, subpoenaed documents
and things produced otherwise than on attendance) deals with the
inspection of documents produced in response to a subpoena.
(h) an application for leave to serve a subpoena in New Zealand;
(i) a document in relation to a proceeding about the adoption,
custody or guardianship of a child;
(j) a document in relation to a proceeding under the Family Law
Act 1975 (Cwlth);
(k) a document filed in the probate jurisdiction, other than—
(i) a grant of probate or letters of administration; or
(ii) an order to administer an estate; or
(iii) a proceeding about a contested matter;
(l) a deposition taken before an examiner;
(m) a document filed in support of an application made in the
absence of a party;
(n) a written submission that has not been read in court;
(o) an unsworn statement of evidence;
(p) a document that the registrar decides should be confidential to
the parties to the proceeding in the interests of justice.
Miscellaneous—ch 2 Part 2.22
(3) Also, a party to a proceeding may search the registry for, inspect, or
take a copy of, a subpoena issued at the request of another party only
(4) However, subrule (3) does not apply to a subpoena that has been
served on the party.
(5) Further, a party to a proceeding may search the registry for, inspect,
or take a copy of, a document filed to support any of the following
applications only with the court’s leave:
(a) an application for a document, evidence or thing to be kept
confidential;
(b) an application for a document or thing to be granted privilege
from production;
(c) an application for leave to serve a subpoena in New Zealand.
(6) Before considering an application for leave under subrule (3), the
court may require the applicant for leave to do either or both of the
(a) give notice of the application for leave to a party to the relevant
proceeding or another interested person;
(b) obtain the agreement of a party to the relevant proceeding or
another interested person to the applicant searching the registry
for, inspecting, or taking a copy of, a document to which the
document—to remove any doubt, document includes a document
kept electronically or in any other way.
Note The Legislation Act, dict, pt 1, defines document to mean any record of
symbols or anything else having a meaning for persons qualified to
Administration and probate—general Division 3.1.1
Rule 3000