Kerikeri businessman takes council lawyer to court in rare private prosecution

A private prosecution has been brought in Kaikohe District Court against the Far North District Council's in-house lawyer George Swanepoel.

The Far North District Council's in-house lawyer has appeared in court as the defendant in a rare private prosecution taken by a Kerikeri business owner.

George Swanepoel was charged with using a phone for fictitious purposes, an offence under the Telecommunications Act 2001, when he appeared in the Kaikohe District Court on Tuesday.

Unusually, the prosecution is led not by police but by Christopher Claydon, who owns an electric boat company based in Kerikeri Inlet.

The allegation is that Swanepoel improperly contacted the Companies Office about Claydon's business.

Swanepoel entered a plea of not guilty through his lawyer Michael Dodds.

Claydon sought a raft of bail conditions. Claydon said he was also concerned by a second alleged complaint to the Companies Office, which he said appeared to have been instigated by Swanepoel.

Judge Brandt Shortland reminded Claydon that, as a private prosecutor, he was supposed to be impartial.

''While you are prosecuting you have to remain impartial as much as you can ... what I've read [in the documents provided to court] is coloured by your views,'' he said.

Claydon said that was ''quite difficult'' because he was both victim and prosecutor.

Dodds did not seek name suppression for his client, saying the matter was already public knowledge.

He also said there was no need for bail conditions.

''There is no reason why Mr Swanepoel should have any conditions at all, other than the obligation to appear in court.''

Dodds said he believed the prosecution was vexatious, which was made plain by the documents already provided to the court.

It was inevitable there would be a Section 147 (dismissal of charge) application, which the charge would be unlikely to survive, and challenges around admissibility of evidence.

Dodds also put Claydon on notice that his client would seek costs if the prosecution failed.

Claydon said the charge had already been reviewed and accepted by the court.

''Prima facie there is a case to answer, so I think it deserves to go to trial on that basis,'' he claimed.

Judge Shortland set aside two hours for a case review and pre-trial hearing on December 9. No bail conditions were set.