Section 199 — Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989: Power of Court to call witnesses

199 Power of Court to call witnesses (1) In any proceedings in a Court under Part 2 or Part 3A of this Act (not being proceedings for a declaration under section 67 of this Act on the ground specified in section 14(1)(e) of this Act) the Court may, of its own motion, call as a witness any person whose evidence may, in its opinion, be of assistance to the Court. (2) The power conferred by subsection (1) of this section shall include power to call as a witness any parent or guardian or other person having the care of the child or young person to whom the proceedings relate, or any person with whom any parent or guardian or other person is cohabiting, or any near relative of the child or young person. (3) A witness called by the Court under this section shall have the same privilege to refuse to answer any question as the witness would have if the witness had been called by a party to the proceedings. (4) A witness called by the Court under this section may be examined and re-examined by the Court, or by any barrister or solicitor assisting the Court, and may be cross-examined by or on behalf of any party to the proceedings or by any barrister or solicitor or lay advocate appointed to represent a child or young person to whom the proceedings relate. (5) Sections 20 , 38 , and 39 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957 , so far as they are applicable and with the necessary modifications, shall apply with respect to every person called as a witness by the Court under this section as if that person had been called by a party to the proceedings. (6) The expenses of any witness called by the Court under this section, in accordance with the prescribed scale of witnesses expenses, shall be paid in the first instance out of the Consolidated Account from money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose. Compare: 1980 No 94 s 165 Subsection (1) was amended, as from 1 November 1999, by section 6 Children, Young Persons, and Their Families (Trans-Tasman Transfer of Protection Orders and Proceedings) Amendment Act 1999 (1999 No 116) by inserting “ or Part 3A ” .