Recording of Evidence Act

RECORDING OF EVIDENCE ACT Chapter R‑7.5 Table of Contents 1 Definitions 1.1 Official court reporter 1.2 Transcribers 2 Authority to record evidence 3 Certification of record 4 Typewritten copies 5 Playing of records in court 6 Filing of records 8 Destruction on order 9 Regulations HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as follows: Definitions 1 In this Act, (a) “court” means (i) the Court of Appeal or the Court of King’s Bench, (ii) the Court of Justice, (iii) repealed 2006 c4 s3, (iv) a public inquiry held by a judge of the Court of Justice under the Fatality Inquiries Act , and (v) the hearings presided over by a clerk of the court, sheriff, registrar, commissioner, board, arbitrator, referee, justice of the peace or other person appointed by law or by order of a court or otherwise, to hear any witness or take any evidence, or to make any order, decree, finding, decision or report, or to exercise any judicial or quasi‑judicial function; (b) “evidence” includes judgments, decisions, opinions, speeches, reports and all other matters done or said by or before a court, including matters relating to procedure; (c) “judge” includes any person lawfully presiding in a court; (d) “Minister” means the Minister determined under section 16 of the Government Organization Act as the Minister responsible for this Act; (e) “record” means a record made in accordance with section 2; (f) “reporter” means (i) an official court reporter as defined in the Alberta Rules of Court , (ii) a person who is appointed by the Minister as an official court reporter pursuant to section 1.1, or (iii) a person who is appointed by the Minister as a transcriber pursuant to section 1.2 or an agent or employee of that person; (g) “sound‑recording machine” means a device, machine or system, of a type approved by the Minister, that faithfully records speech or other sounds in some permanent form or in a form capable of being transcribed after a period of 2 years or more. RSA 2000 cM‑10 s1;RSA 2000 c16(Supp) s52;2006 c4 s3; 2008 c32 s27;2009 c53 s159;2013 c23 s12;AR 217/2022; AR 75/2023 Official court reporter 1.1 The Minister may appoint persons as official court reporters for the purposes of this Act. 2009 c53 s159 Transcribers 1.2 The Minister may appoint persons as transcribers for the purposes of this Act. 2009 c53 s159;2013 c23 s12 Authority to record evidence 2 (1) The Minister may by order direct that the evidence or any part of the evidence given before a court in a civil action or in a proceeding under the Provincial Offences Procedure Act be recorded by means of a sound‑recording machine. (2) An order under subsection (1) may be of general application or may relate to a specific court or to specific sittings of a court or may be otherwise limited. RSA 2000 cM‑10 s2;2006 c4 s3 Certification of record 3 (1) A record must, in accordance with the regulations, be certified as being the record made of the evidence or part of the evidence, as the case may be, in the proceeding by the judge or the court official in charge of the sound‑recording machine during the proceeding. (2) A certification made under this section is admissible in evidence as proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the record is the record of evidence, or part of the evidence, in the proceeding. RSA 2000 cM‑10 s3;2006 c4 s3 Typewritten copies 4 A typewritten copy of the whole or any part of the contents of a record, (a) reduced to writing by a reporter, and (b) certified by the reporter in accordance with the regulations, is admissible in evidence by any court without proof of the signature of the reporter unless the court orders otherwise. RSA 2000 cM‑10 s4;2006 c4 s3;2009 c53 s159 Playing of records in court 5 The sounds recorded on a record may be reproduced in a court by any appropriate machine or device and the reproduction shall be received by the court to the same extent and with the same effect as a typewritten copy prepared pursuant to section 4. RSA 1980 cM‑11 s5 Filing of records 6 All records must be stored and maintained by the official having custody of the records of the court and shall not be removed except as required by an Act or a rule of court or on the order of a judge of the court or a judge of the Court of Appeal or the Court of King’s Bench. RSA 2000 cM‑10 s6;2006 c4 s3;AR 217/2022 7 Repealed 2006 c4 s3. Destruction on order 8 (1) A record must be kept for a period of 10 years from the making of the record after which time the Court of King’s Bench may order that the record be erased, cancelled or otherwise destroyed. (2) An order under subsection (1) may be made on the application of the Minister without notice to any other person and may be a general order to apply with respect to all or any records made more than 10 years previous to the order. RSA 2000 cM‑10 s8;2006 c4 s3;AR 217/2022 Regulations 9 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing the fees to be charged for the transcription of records and for copies of transcriptions. (2) The Minister may make regulations respecting the manner and form of the certification given under section 3 or 4. RSA 2000 cM‑10 s9;2006 c4 s3