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or her, with a view to securing his or her presence as a witness or production of any document or thing at the proceedings concerned: Provided that any judge of the court concerned may release him or her on a recognisance with or without sureties to attend as a witness or to produce any document or thing as required.

(4) Any person subpoenaed to attend any proceedings as a witness or to produce any document or thing who fails without reasonable excuse to obey such subpoena, is guilty of an offence and liable upon conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months.

(5) If a person who has entered into any recognisance in terms of subsection (3) to attend such proceedings as a witness or to produce any document or thing fails without reasonable excuse so to attend or to produce such document or thing, he or she forfeits his or her recognisance and is guilty of an offence and liable upon conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months.

Manner in which witness may be dealt with on refusal to give evidence or produce documents

36. (1) Whenever any person who appears either in obedience to a subpoena or by virtue of a warrant issued under section 35 or who is present and is verbally required by the Superior Court concerned to give evidence in any proceedings—

refuses to take an oath or to make an affirmation;

having taken an oath or having made an affirmation, refuses to answer such questions as are put to him or her; or

refuses or fails to produce any document or thing which he or she is required to produce,

without any just excuse for such refusal or failure, the court may adjourn the proceedings for any period not exceeding eight days and may, in the meantime, by warrant commit the person so refusing or failing to prison unless the person consents to do what is required of him or her before he or she is so committed to prison.

(2) If any person referred to in subsection (1) again refuses at the resumed hearing of the proceedings to do what is so required of him or her, the court may again adjourn the proceedings and commit him or her for a like period and so again from time to time until such person consents to do what is required of him or her.

(3) Nothing contained in this section prevents the court from giving judgment in any matter or otherwise disposing of the proceedings according to any other sufficient evidence taken.

(4) No person is bound to produce any document or thing not specified or otherwise sufficiently described in the subpoena unless he or she actually has it in court.

(5) When a subpoena is issued to procure the attendance of any person as a witness or to produce any book, paper or document in any proceedings, and it appears that—

he or she is unable to give any evidence or to produce any book, paper or document which would be relevant to any issue in such proceedings; or

such book, paper or document could properly be produced by some other person; or

to compel him or her to attend would be an abuse of the process of the court,

any judge of the court concerned may, notwithstanding anything contained in this section, after reasonable notice by the Registrar to the party who sued out the subpoena and after hearing that party in chambers if he or she appears, make an order cancelling such subpoena.

Witness fees

37. (1) The Minister may, in consultation with the Minister of Finance, by notice in the Gazette prescribe a tariff of allowances which must be paid to a witness in civil proceedings or to any person who is to accompany any such witness on account of the youth or infirmity due to old age or any disability of such witness.