In any proceeding before any Court or any person acting judicially—
(a)
A certificate signed by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade that on a date specified in the certificate a specified country was or was not a Commonwealth country, or that a specified territory was or was not one for whose international relations a specified Commonwealth country was responsible, shall be conclusive evidence of the matters stated in the certificate:
(b)
If no certificate pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection is produced relating to it, the fact that a country is specified in Schedule 1 to this Act shall be conclusive evidence that that country is a Commonwealth country, and the fact that a country is not so specified shall be conclusive evidence that it is not a Commonwealth country.
(2)
The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, amend the said Schedule 1 by adding to it the names of countries that have become Commonwealth countries or deleting from it the names of countries that have ceased to be Commonwealth countries.
(3)
An Order in Council pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall come into force or be deemed to have come into force on a date specified therein, whether that date is before, on, or after the date of the making of the order.
(4)
The Court or person acting judicially to which or to whom any certificate under subsection (1)(a) of this section is produced shall take judicial notice of the signature thereon of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
(5)
For the purposes of this section,—
court includes the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, and any District Court
District Court includes—
(a)
a Family Court; and
(b)
a Youth Court
person acting judicially means any person having in New Zealand by law authority to hear, receive, and examine evidence
proceeding means—
(a)
a proceeding conducted by a court; and
(b)
any interlocutory or other application to a court connected with a proceeding.
Subsection (1)(a) was amended, as from 1 December 1988, by section 14(1) External Relations Act 1988 (1988 No 159) by substituting “Secretary of External Relations and Trade” for “Secretary of Foreign Affairs”. That reference was further amended, as from 1 July 1993, by section 6(1) Foreign Affairs Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 48) by substituting “Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade” for “Secretary of External Relations and Trade”.
Subsection (4) was amended, as from 1 December 1988, by section 14(1) External Relations Act 1988 (1988 No 159) by substituting “Secretary of External Relations and Trade” for “Secretary of Foreign Affairs”. That reference was further amended, as from 1 July 1993, by section 6(1) Foreign Affairs Amendment Act 1993 (1993 No 48) by substituting “Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade” for “Secretary of External Relations and Trade”.
Subsection (5) was substituted, as from 1 August 2007, by section 216 Evidence Act 2006 (2006 No 69). See clause 2(2) Evidence Act 2006 Commencement Order 2007 (SR 2007/190).
3-
Operation of New Zealand law with respect to certain Commonwealth countries
All existing law—that is to say all law, whether a rule of law or a provision of an Act of any Parliament or a provision of any other enactment or instrument whatsoever—shall, until provision to the contrary is made by the authority having power to alter that law, have the same operation with respect to every Commonwealth country of which Her Majesty is not Head of State (whether by virtue of that country's having become a republic or otherwise) as it would have if Her Majesty were Head of State.
4-
Operation of New Zealand law with respect to the Republic of Ireland
All existing law as aforesaid shall, until provision to the contrary is made by the authority having the power to alter that law, operate with respect to the Republic of Ireland as if it were a Commonwealth country and not a foreign country.
Section 4 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1924 is hereby consequentially amended by inserting, after the definition of the term Committed for trial, the following definitions:
“Commonwealth citizen means a person who is recognised by the law of a Commonwealth country as being a citizen of that country
“Commonwealth country means a country that is an independent sovereign member of the Commonwealth”
(2)
The enactments specified in Schedule 2 to this Act are hereby consequentially repealed.
Antigua and Barbuda: this item was inserted by SR 1982/170
Belize: this item was inserted by SR 1982/170
Dominica: this item was inserted, as from 3 November 1978, by SR 1979/123
Kiribati: this item was inserted, as from 12 June 1979, by SR 1980/119.
Solomon Islands: this item was inserted, as from 7 July 1978, by SR 1979/123.
St. Lucia: this item was inserted, as from 22 February 1979, by SR 1979/123.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines: this item was inserted, as from 27 October 1979, by SR 1980/119.
Tuvalu: this item was inserted, as from 1 October 1978, by SR 1979/123.
Vanuatu: this item was inserted by SR 1982/170.
Zimbabwe: this item was inserted, as from 18 April 1980, by SR 1980/119.
