Participating in a Virtual Meeting Room court hearing
Participating in a Virtual Meeting Room court hearing
Important notice for remote hearings: Court participants must follow the court rules and protocols, and must not record, photograph or publish any part of a remote court hearing. This is a breach of the court's protocol and will be treated as a breach of a court order.
Courts and tribunals have the ability to run events remotely. That is, where some or all people involved in the case (including the judge and the registrar) attend by teleconference (phone), by videoconference using Virtual Meeting Rooms, or using Microsoft Teams (an online meeting platform that uses an internet browser, or the Teams app, available on a computer, tablet or smartphone).
The judge in charge of each case will decide if people need to come to court or if they will use remote courts. Court staff will let you know if you need to participate remotely. Otherwise, any existing arrangements will remain in place.
Information for family, whānau, media and the public
Hearings, including remote hearings, are open to the public unless directed otherwise. The court may allow family, whānau, media and the public to view the hearing remotely.
If you wish to apply to view a hearing remotely, you should contact the registry of the relevant court by email or telephone. The request should be made before 1 pm on the working day before the hearing. Details of the courts’ email addresses and telephone numbers can be found at:
Court participants must not record, photograph, or publish any part of a remote court hearing.
The same requirements for participants physically present in court apply to participants involved remotely or virtually. This means participants must:
not record the screen (video) or audio and must not take still photographs. This includes a prohibition on downloading or capturing, by any means, sounds or images from the video feed, whether by software or digital devices, including cell phones, and a prohibition on electronic sharing of any content from the hearing
not publish any report of the hearing while it is in progress. This includes publishing material on any social media platform or any other media
adhere to court suppression orders. This includes a prohibition on publishing information on social media.
Compliance with court protocols and directions are essential to preserving the integrity of the court process and to protect the privacy of those involved in the proceeding. Failure to comply with paragraphs 9(d), 16 and 17 of this Protocol will be treated as a breach of a court order.
Failure to comply with this Protocol will be treated as a breach of a court order and can result in a fine of up to $100,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 6 months.
The below links and Quick Reference Guides contain guidance on the processes to follow if you are required to participate in a remote courts event.
Electronic filing is now available for all District Court and Family Court documents. You can do this through File and Pay. If requested by the Court you may need to provide an original copy of the documents.
Before a remote courts hearing occurs, the court will email you an email meeting invitation that will provide you with the details required to connect to the meeting. This will differ depending on the type of remote courts event that is to occur. Any email communication or meeting invitations that you receive will use the BCC function to prevent the sharing of contact details.
Refer to the following links and Quick Reference Guides for information on connecting to a remote courts event.
District Court staff will continue to provide regional daily lists to accredited court reporters for all criminal proceedings.
Daily lists for the High Court and the Court of Appeal are publicly available on the Courts of New Zealand website(external link)(external link). Accredited media may request press sheets for specific defendants or cases. Accredited media have a right to attend hearings in all but exceptional circumstances and can register their interest to attend with the court where the matter will be heard. They may continue to join the video conference on the basis that they remain muted and do not record sound or capture video without express permission of the judge. The judge will decide if there is anything the media cannot report.
If you wish to apply to view a hearing remotely, you should contact the registry of the relevant court by email or telephone.