Te Reo Māori
Translation of court documents into te reo
Can I get court documents translated into Māori?
District Court Rules 2014, rule 1.16 Family Court Rules 2002, rule 131 High Court Rules 2016, rule 1.12 Criminal Procedure Rules 2012, rule 1.10
In civil (non-criminal) cases in the District and High Courts, and in Family Court cases, you have the right to have documents from the other side translated into te reo Māori, but only if you satisfy the court registrar that you won’t be able to read them unless they’re translated. If you want to apply to the registrar to order this, you have to apply within 10 working days after you receive the document. If the registrar does order a translation, it will be the other side’s responsibility to have the document translated. The court also has the discretion to order a translation of a document into te reo even if you haven’t applied for this.
In criminal cases, you can apply for the prosecution documents to be translated into te reo, and the judge or court registrar can order this if you’ve satisfied them that you won’t be able to read the documents otherwise – but you don’t have a right to this. Again, you have to apply within 10 working days after receiving the documents, and the judge has the discretion to order a translation even if you haven’t applied for it.
