New Zealand
Practice Relating to Rule 100. Fair Trial Guarantees
Section I. Presence of the accused at the trial
New Zealand’s Military Manual (1992) states, in an explanatory footnote: “No prisoner may be tried in absentia”.
The manual further provides: “Anyone charged with an offence shall have the right to be tried in his presence.”
With respect to non-international armed conflicts, the manual states: “The accused has the right to be present at his trial.”
New Zealand’s Court Martial Act (2007) provides that the “Court Martial … must sit in the presence of the accused”.