This is an official version.

Copyright 2014: Queens Printer,

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Important Information

(Includes details about the availability of printed and electronic versions of the Statutes.)

Table of Public Statutes

Main Site

How current is this statute?

Responsible Department

RSNL1990

CHAPTER R-7

RECORDING OF EVIDENCE ACT

Amended:

1994 c29; 2004 c36 s37; 2013 c16 s25

CHAPTER R-7

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE USE OF SOUND RECORDING MACHINES FOR TAKING AND

RECORDING EVIDENCE

Analysis

Short title

Definitions

Recording of evidence by machine

Certification of sound record

Preparation of transcripts

Effect as evidence of sound record

Filing of sound records

Regulations

Standards of competency

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Recording of Evidence Act.

RSN1970 c116 s1

Back to Top

Definitions

In this Act

(a)

"appellate court" means the Court of Appeal, the Trial Division or the Provincial Court

(a.1)

"court" means the Supreme Court, the Provincial Court, and a master, and a court or tribunal, judicial or quasi-judicial, or commission or body of persons authorized by

an Act or otherwise to hold hearings, take evidence and make a judgment, decree, order, report, finding or decision or otherwise exercise a judicial or quasi-judicial function or a function auxiliary to a judicial or quasi-judicial body or person;

(b)

"evidence" includes judgments, decisions, opinions, speeches, reports and other matters done or said by or before a court, including matters relating to procedure;

(c)

"judge" includes persons presiding over or holding a court;

(d)

"proceeding" includes everything done before or in a court in the execution of its functions; and

(e)

"sound-recording machine" means a device approved by the Supreme Court or the Attorney General which records faithfully speech and other sounds in some permanent or semi-permanent form, as, for example, upon tapes, wires, discs, cylinders, bands or other objects capable of taking and reproducing speech and other sounds.

RSN1970 c116 s2; 1977 c11 s1; 1986 c42 Sch B; 1994 c29 s1 ; 2004 c36 s37 ; 2013 c16 s25

Back to Top

Recording of evidence by machine

The evidence or a portion of evidence in a proceeding may, by general or specific order of a judge, or under an order of the Attorney General in general or specific terms, be recorded by a sound recording machine.

RSN1970 c116 s3

Back to Top

Certification of sound record

(1)A sound record made under

section 3 shall be certified by the judge or by the court official in charge of the sound-recording machine during the proceeding as being the record made of the evidence or portion of the evidence in the proceeding.

(2) A certificate made under subsection (1) shall, without proof of the signature of the judge or, where made by the person in charge of the sound-recording machine, without proof of his or her signature or official character, and in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be evidence that the sound record is the record of the evidence or portion of the evidence in the proceeding.

RSN1970 c116 s4

Back to Top

Preparation of transcripts

(1)An official court reporter, employee of the court or a person referred to in subsection (2) or (3) may prepare a transcript of the whole or a part of

(

a) a sound record made under

section 3 and certified under

section 4; or

(

b) a copy of a sound record reproduced under

section 6

and, where the official court reporter, employee of the court or person referred to in subsection (2) or a person preparing a transcript under subsection (3) does so, he or she shall attach to the transcript his or her affidavit stating that it is a true and correct transcription of the sound record or part of it and the transcript shall then have the same effect as the original evidence.

(2) The Department of Justice may, with the approval of the appellate court, contract with a person, other than an official court reporter or employee of the court, for the purpose of subsection (1).

(3) 1994 c29 s2

Back to Top

Effect as evidence of sound record

The contents of a sound record made under

section 3 and certified under

section 4 may be reproduced by a device, machine or system of a type approved by the Supreme Court or by the Attorney General, and the contents reproduced shall have the same effect as the original evidence.

RSN1970 c116 s6

Back to Top

Filing of sound records

(1)Sound records made under

section 3 shall be filed with the records of the court, or, in the case of a body not being a court, with an officer who may be designated by the Attorney General.

(2) A sound record shall not be removed from the custody of the court or of an officer appointed by the Attorney General, or erased or wiped out by a person, except upon an order of a judge of the Court of Appeal where the record is in that court, or of a judge of the Trial Division where the record is in that court, or of a Provincial Court judge where the record is in the Provincial Court, or of the Attorney General where the record is that of another court.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a copy of a sound record made under

section 6 may be released to a person who requests it.

RSN1970 c116 s7; 1977 c11 s2; 1979 c38 s7; 1986 c42 Sch B; 1994 c29 s3

Back to Top

Regulations

The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations to give effect to the purpose of this Act or for supplying a deficiency in this Act.

RSN1970 c116 s8

Back to Top

Standards of competency

The rules committees referred to in

section 54 of the Judicature Act

may establish a minimum standard of competency for court reporters, other employees of the court and persons referred to in subsections 5(2) and (3).

1994 c29 s4

Queen's Printer