24Power to summon witnesses and take evidence

#### 24 Power to summon witnesses and take evidence 24 Power to summon witnesses and take evidence > > (1) An executive officer with special legal qualifications may summon a person to appear before the Commission at a hearing to give evidence and to produce such documents or other things (if any) as are referred to in the summons. > > > (2) The summons may require the immediate attendance of a person before the Commission if the executive officer believes on reasonable grounds that delay in attendance might result in— > > > > > (a) the commission of an offence, or > > > > > (b) the escape of an offender, or > > > > > (c) the loss or destruction of evidence, or > > > > > (d) serious prejudice to the conduct of an investigation. > > > (3) The summons must be accompanied by a copy of the notice, or of each of the notices, by which the matter or matters to which the hearing relates was or were referred to the Commission by the Management Committee. > > > (4) The summons must set out, so far as is reasonably practicable, the general nature of the matters in relation to which the Commission intends to question the person unless the Commission is satisfied that, in the particular circumstances of an investigation to which the hearing relates, it would prejudice the effectiveness of the investigation for the summons to do so. > > > (5) Nothing in subsection (4) prevents the Commission from questioning the person in relation to any matter that relates to an investigation. > > > (6) The executive officer presiding at a hearing before the Commission may require a person appearing at the hearing to produce a document or other thing (whether or not the document or thing is present at the hearing). > > > (7) The Commission may, at a hearing, take evidence on oath or affirmation and for that purpose— > > > > > (a) the person presiding at the hearing may require a person appearing at the hearing to give evidence either to take an oath or to make an affirmation in a form approved by the person presiding, and > > > > > (b) the person presiding or an authorised person may administer an oath or affirmation to a person so appearing at the hearing. > > > (8) In this section— > > > > authorised person means a person authorised in writing, or a person included in a class of persons authorised in writing, for the purposes of this section by the Commissioner.