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Magistrates Court Act 1930
64First instance warrant
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64 First instance warrant
(1) The court may, instead of issuing a subpoena for the attendance of a
witness in a hearing, issue a warrant in the first instance for the arrest
of the person if it is—
(a) unlikely that the person will attend the hearing to give evidence
unless the person is compelled to do so; and
(b) in the interests of justice to do so.
(2) In deciding whether it is in the interests of justice to issue a warrant,
the court must consider the following:
(a) the importance of the evidence the person is expected to give;
(b) whether the evidence could be obtained by other means;
(c) the nature of the matter being heard;
(d) the degree of urgency to resolve the matter;
(e) the likelihood that the issue of a warrant would secure the
person’s attendance at the hearing;
(f) the impact of using a warrant for the arrest of the person.