Australian Capital Territory Numbered Regulations

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND PROTECTION ORDERS REGULATION 2009 (NO 10 OF 2009) - REG 41

    (1)     At an examination—

        (a)     the practice and procedure of the Magistrates Court in relation to the hearing of a proceeding apply so far as they are applicable (subject to section 40 and this section); and

        (b)     the examiner may adjourn the examination; and

        (c)     each party, and the party's lawyer, may attend; and

        (d)     unless the court otherwise orders, each party has the same rights in relation to the examination, cross-examination and re-examination of the person being examined as the party would have had if the person had given evidence at the hearing of the proceeding before the court; and

        (e)     the examiner may ask the person being examined any question about the meaning of an answer given by the person or any other matter arising in the course of the examination; and

        (f)     the deposition of the person examined must be taken down by the examiner or by a shorthand writer or someone else in the presence of the examiner; and

        (g)     the deposition must contain, as far as practicable, the statement of the person examined; and

        (h)     the examiner may direct that the words of any question and the answer to the question be set out in the deposition, but subject to paragraph (g) and subsection (2) (b), the deposition need not set out every question and answer; and

              (i)     if a party to the proceeding asks, the deposition of the person examined, or the shorthand notes of the person's examination, must be read to the person and the examiner must ask the person to sign the deposition or the notes; and

        (j)     the examiner must authenticate the deposition of the person examined by the examiner's signature and must make on, or attach to, the deposition a note, signed by the examiner, of the time spent in the examination and the fees received by the examiner in relation to the examination.

    (2)     If, at the examination, a party to the proceeding, or the person being examined, objects to a question asked of the person or to the production of a document or thing by the person, or the person objects to answering a question asked of the person—

        (a)     the examiner must state to the parties present at the examination the examiner's opinion about the validity of the ground for the objection, but must not decide on the validity; and

        (b)     the question, the ground for objection, the answer (if any) and the opinion of the examiner must be set out in the deposition of the person being examined or in a statement attached to the deposition; and

        (c)     the Magistrates Court must, on application by a party or at the hearing of the proceeding, decide on the validity of the ground for the objection; and

        (d)     if the court decides that there were no valid grounds for the objection, the court may order the objector to pay any costs of any party in the proceeding caused by the objection.

    (3)     The examiner may, with the written consent of each party to the proceeding, examine another person as well as the person for whose examination the examiner was appointed, and, if the examiner does so—

        (a)     the examiner must attach to the deposition of the other person the consent of each party; and

        (b)     the person must be examined in accordance with this section.