CHAPTER
66
EVIDENCE (PROCEEDINGS IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS) |
ARRANGEMENT OF
SECTIONS |
SECTION |
|
|
Application for assistance in obtaining evidence. |
Application to the Supreme Court. |
Power of Supreme Court to give effect to
application. |
|
Power of Supreme Court to assist in obtaining
evidence for international proceedings. |
|
Pending applications, etc., not affected by Act. |
CHAPTER 66 |
EVIDENCE
(PROCEEDINGS IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS) |
Act to
make new provision for enabling the Supreme Court to assist in obtaining
evidence required for the purposes of civil proceedings in other jurisdictions;
to extend the Powers of the Court to issue process for securing the attendance
of witnesses; and for connected purposes. | 14 of 2000
33 of 2000
42 of 2000 |
[Assent 27th June,
2000]
[Commencement 18th August, 2000] |
1. This Act may be cited as the Evidence (Proceedings in
Other Jurisdictions) Act, 2000. | Short title. |
2. (1) In this Act- | Interpretation. |
"civil
proceedings", in relation to the requesting court, means proceedings in
any civil or commercial matter; |
"Court"
means the Supreme Court; |
"property"
includes any land, chattel or other corporeal property of any description; |
"request"
includes any commission, order or other process issued by or on behalf of the
requesting court. |
(2)
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as enabling the Court to make an order
that is binding on the Crown or on any person in his capacity as an officer or
servant of the Crown. |
3. (1) Application may be made to the Supreme Court by
or on behalf of a court or tribunal ("the requesting court")
exercising jurisdiction in a country or territory outside The Bahamas for an
order for evidence to be obtained in The Bahamas. | Application for assistance in obtaining evidence. |
(2) On receipt of
an application under subsection (1), the Registrar shall send the document to
the Attorney-General and the Attorney-General shall make an application to the
Supreme Court for an order and take such other steps as may be necessary to
give effect to the request. |
4. Where an application is made to the Supreme Court for
an order for evidence to be obtained in The Bahamas and the Court is satisfied- | Application to the Supreme Court. |
(a) that the
application is made in pursuance of a request issued by or on behalf of a court
or tribunal ("the requesting court") exercising jurisdiction in a
country or territory outside The Bahamas; and |
(b) that
the evidence to which the application relates is to be obtained for the
purposes of civil proceedings which either have been instituted before the
requesting court or whose institution before that court is contemplated and for
which investigations have commenced, |
the Court
shall have the powers conferred on it by the following provisions of this Act. |
5. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the
Court shall have power, on any such application as is mentioned in section 4,
by order to make such provision for obtaining evidence in The Bahamas as may
appear to the Court to be appropriate for the purpose of giving effect to the
request in pursuance of which the application is made; and any such order may
require a person specified therein to take such steps as the Court may consider
appropriate for that purpose. | Power of Supreme Court to give effect to application. |
(2) Without
prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) but subject to the provisions of
this section, an order under this section may, in particular, make provision- |
(a) for the
examination of witnesses, either orally or in writing; |
(b) for the
production of documents; |
(c) for the
inspection, photographing, preservation, custody or detention of any property; |
(d) for the
taking of samples of any property and the carrying out of any experiments on or
with any property; |
(e) for the
medical examination of any person; |
(f) without
prejudice to paragraph (e), for the taking and testing of samples of blood from
any person. |
(3) An order under
this section shall not require any particular steps to be taken unless they are
steps which can be required to be taken by way of obtaining evidence for the
purposes of civil proceedings in the Court (whether or not proceedings of the
same description as those to which the application for the order relates); but
this subsection shall not preclude the making of an order requiring a person to
give testimony (either orally or in writing) otherwise than on oath where this
is asked for by the requesting court. |
(4) An order under
this section shall not require a person- |
(a) to state
what documents relevant to the proceedings to which the application for the
order relates are or have been in his possession, custody or power; or |
(b) to produce
any documents other than particular documents specified in the order as being
documents appearing to the Court to be, or likely to be, in his possession,
custody or power. |
(5) A person who,
by virtue of an order under this section, is required to attend at any place
shall be entitled at the discretion of the Court to the like conduct money and
payment for expenses and loss of time payable by the applicant. |
6. (1) A person shall not be compelled by virtue of an
order under section 5 to give any evidence which he could not be compelled to
give- | Privilege of witnesses. |
(a) in civil
proceedings in The Bahamas; or |
(b) subject to
subsection (2), in civil proceedings in the country or territory in which the
requesting court exercises jurisdiction. |
(2) Subsection
(1)(b) shall not apply unless the claim of the person in question to be exempt
from giving the evidence is either- |
(a) supported
by a statement contained in the request (whether it is so supported unconditionally
or subject to conditions that are fulfilled); or |
(b) conceded by
the applicant for the order, |
and where
such a claim made by any person is not supported or conceded as aforesaid he
may (subject to the other provisions of this section) be required to give the
evidence to which the claim relates but that evidence shall not be transmitted
to the requesting court if that court, on the matter being referred to it,
upholds the claim. |
(3) Without
prejudice to subsection (1), a person shall not be compelled by virtue of an
order under section 5 to give any evidence if his doing so would be prejudicial
to the security of The Bahamas; and a certificate signed by or on behalf of the
Minister of National Security to the effect that it would be so prejudicial for
that person to do so shall be conclusive evidence of that fact. |
(4) In this
section references to giving evidence include references to answering any
question and to producing any document and the reference in subsection (2) to
the transmission of evidence given by a person shall be construed accordingly. |
7. (1) The Governor-General may by Order direct that,
subject to such exceptions, adaptations or modifications as may be specified in
the Order, the provisions of sections 4 to 6 shall have effect in relation to
international proceedings of any description specified in the order. | Power of Supreme Court to assist in obtaining evidence
for international proceedings. |
(2) In this
section "international proceedings" means proceedings before the
International Court of Justice or any other court, tribunal, commission, body
or authority (whether consisting of one or more persons) which, in pursuance of
any international agreement or any resolution of the General Assembly of the
United Nations, exercises any jurisdiction or performs any functions of a
judicial nature or by way of arbitration, conciliation or inquiry or is
appointed (whether permanently or temporarily) for the purpose of exercising
any jurisdiction or performing any such functions. |
8. (1) The power to make rules of court under section 76
of the Supreme
Court Act, 1996 shall include power to make rules of court- | Rules of court. |
(a) as to the
manner in which any such application as is mentioned in section 4 is to be
made; |
(b) subject to
the provisions of this Act, as to the. circumstances in which an order can be
made under section 5; and |
(c) as to the
manner in which any such reference as is mentioned in subsection (2) of section
6 is to be made, |
and any such
rules may include such incidental, supplementary and consequential provision as
the authority making the rules may consider necessary or expedient. |
(2) Until rules
are made pursuant to subsection (1), Order 65 of the Rules of the Supreme Court
shall apply to the obtaining of evidence for the purposes of this Act. |
9. Nothing in this Act shall affect- | Pending applications, etc., not affected by Act. |
(a) any
application to the Court or judge which is pending at the commencement of this
Act; |
(b) any
certificate given for the purposes of any such application; |
(c) any power
to make an order on such an application; or |
(d) the
operation or enforcement of any order made on such an application. |