51Admissibility of evidence

51 Admissibility of evidence (1) Subject to subsection (2), the court by which an order is made under section 50(2) may on such terms as it thinks fit permit a party to the proceeding in which the order is made to tender as evidence in the proceeding: (a) the evidence of a person taken in an examination held as a result of the order; or (b) a record of that evidence. Evidence Act 1939 35 (2) Evidence of a person so tendered is not admissible if: (a) it appears to the satisfaction of the court at the hearing of the proceeding that the person is in the Territory and able to attend the hearing; or (b) the evidence would not have been admissible had it been given or produced at the hearing of the proceeding. (3) Where it is in the interests of justice to do so, the court may in its discretion exclude from a proceeding evidence taken in an examination held as a result of an order under section 50(2), notwithstanding that the evidence is otherwise admissible. (4) This section does not affect the power of a court in a criminal proceeding to exclude evidence that has been obtained illegally or would, if admitted, operate unfairly against the defendant. (5) In this section: examination includes any proceeding for the taking of a person's evidence conducted in relation to a letter of request issued pursuant to an order within section 50(2)(c), and a reference to evidence taken in an examination includes a reference to: (a) a document produced at the examination; and (b) answers made, whether in writing or orally and reduced to writing, to any written interrogatories presented at the examination.