Civil Defence advice on retrieval of files by lawyers

The following information has been provided to the New Zealand Law Society following an inquiry to Civil Defence by a government department. Civil Defence has advised that lawyers who want to access important files should take the following actions:

(1) The lawyer must get a Judge or Court Registrar to sign off a letter explaining the urgency around the file(s) to be retrieved, specifically quoting the case and the next hearing date.

(2) The lawyer needs a structural engineer’s assessment of the building to be accessed.

Once they have (1) and (2) completed they need to visit the Civil Defence office (corner Montreal/Herefords St) and apply for a red pass for entry.

© New Zealand Law Society 2008