Law relating to private schools

Our review focussed on: the criteria and process for the registration and deregistration of private schools under section 35A of the Education Act 1989; the role of ERO in assessing and reviewing schools against those criteria; legislative duties on private schools; and the sanctions available to the Ministry of Education where duties are breached.  The Law Commission’s final report sets out recommendations for the reform of the law relating to private schools in New Zealand and is accompanied by a possible draft bill.

The report will be published in September 2009.  

Part 8 Crimes Act 1961

Part 8 of the Crimes Act 1961 deals with crimes against the person.  The project is reviewing the adequacy and coherence of the current offence provisions, considering whether there are any gaps in them and revising maximum penalty levels.

The project is to be completed by the end of September 2009 when a report and draft bill will be provided to the Minister of Justice.

Suppressing Names and Evidence

The Law Commission is reviewing the law relating to suppressing names and evidence in criminal proceedings as part of the Criminal Procedure Simplification project.

The final report will be completed in September 2009 and published in October 2009.

War Pensions Act 1954

This project aims to make the Act easier to administer and more accessible and readily understood by those affected by it. The Act should reflect the modern context of being a veteran, and reflect the government’s duty of care but also maintain the rights of individuals under that duty.  The Commission is awaiting Treasury advice on the costs of a number of proposals.

The final report is expected to be published by the end of 2009.

Civil List Act 1979

This Act has not been reviewed for many years and is out of date in a number of respects. The Act covers a range of interests, including remuneration of the Governor-General, Ministers and Members of Parliament, which make independent review desirable.
An Issues Paper was published in July 2008 and a final report is being drafted.

Search and Surveillance Powers

The Law Commission report Search and Surveillance Powers (NZLC R97 was tabled in Parliament in August 2007. Subsequently, the Commission worked with agencies across government to develop legislation to implement the report and the Search and Surveillance Powers Bill was introduced in September 2008. This Bill was replaced by the Search and Surveillance Bill in July 2009, which extends the generic regime proposed in the Commission’s report to a wider range of agencies and search powers than the first Bill.  It also includes a number of changes to deal with issues identified after the introduction of the first Bill.

The Justice and Electoral Committee has asked for submissions on the Bill by 18 September 2009. The Commission will continue to work with departmental advisers to the select committee.

Land Transfer Act 1952

The Law Commission, in conjunction with Land Information New Zealand, (LINZ) is reviewing the present Land Transfer Act 1952, and amendment Acts. An issues paper (IP 10) was published in October 2008 (copies still available).  The aim of the review is to modernise and streamline the 1952 Act, not to make any fundamental changes to the Torrens system of registration. A particular objective is to base the Act on the reality that the system for dealing with registration and dealings in land is now electronic. This is the first comprehensive review of the 1952 Act since the early Land Transfer Acts over a century ago, so review is long overdue.

Submissions were received on the Issues Paper by March 2009. The Law Commission and LINZ have since been working to produce a final report accompanied by a draft Bill, under the oversight of a steering committee. This should be completed by the end of 2009 and published in early 2010.

Evidence Act 2006 - Report on Veracity and Propensity Provisions

In Disclosure to Court of Defendants' Previous Convictions, Similar Offending and Bad Character (NZLC R103), the Law Commission recommended that it should monitor the operation of sections 36 to 44 of the Evidence Act 2006 (the veracity and propensity provisions), and provide a report to the government.

This report is due at the end of February 2010.

Privacy Review

This project involves four stages, with publications at each stage.
Stage 1: Policy Overview was a high-level analysis to assess privacy values, changes in technology, international trends, and their implications for New Zealand law. It was completed in 2008 with publication of a study paper.
Stage 2: Public Registers was a consideration of the law relating to Public Registers and whether it requires systematic alteration as a result of privacy considerations and emerging technology. The Commission recommended a review of all public registers against a template set out in the report, with the resulting legislative changes to be introduced by way of a single omnibus Bill. The report was published in 2008 but the recommendations will not be considered by Government until the Commission completes its review of the Privacy Act 1993.
Stage 3: Invasions of Privacy will consider and report on the adequacy of New Zealand’s civil and criminal law to deal with invasions of privacy. An issues paper was published in March 2009 and submissions have been received.  The Commission is now drafting its final report for stage 3, expected to be completed at the end of 2009.
Stage 4: Review of the Privacy Act 1993 is a general review of the statute with a view to updating it. The Commission is currently drafting an issues paper and will invite public submissions on this.  The final report for stage 4 will be released in 2010.

Maximum Penalties Review

Maximum penalties contained in the five major criminal statutes are to be reviewed: Crimes Act 1961, Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, Land Transport Act 1998, Arms Act 1983, and Summary Offences Act 1981. Changes will be recommended to correct existing penalty anomalies and to reflect changes in the rules relating to the automatic release of offenders. The first round of public consultation on draft penalty categories is complete.

The next step is to review the categories in light of consultation outcomes and provide a report to the Minister on the work to date.

Compensation for Victims of Crime

This project involves an examination of the existing mechanisms for compensating victims of crime for harm, loss or damage suffered as the result of that crime. The project will consider the adequacy of these mechanisms and make proposals for any changes that may be necessary or desirable.  The project will also consider the recommendations relating to victims’ compensation in the Justice and Electoral Committee’s report, Inquiry into Victims’ Rights.

A final report will be published in March 2010.

Regulatory framework around the sale and supply of liquor

More than 20 years have passed since the framework for the sale of liquor laws was established by the 1986 Working Party on Liquor. The resulting Sale of Liquor Act 1989 has been amended many times over the years, and its overall coherence has been undermined. It is time to re-examine from first principles the framework under which liquor is sold in New Zealand. This will be a comprehensive review to examine and evaluate the current laws and policies relating to the sale, supply and consumption of liquor in New Zealand.

The Issues Paper was released in July 2009. Public consultation will continue until 31 October 2009 and the Final Report is expected to be completed at the end of March 2010.

Misuse of Drugs Act 1975

It has been more than 30 years since the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 was first enacted and numerous amendments since mean it is complex and difficult to navigate.  The objective of the review is to propose a contemporary legislative framework for regulating drugs that is consistent with New Zealand’s international obligations concerning illegal and other drugs and reflects current knowledge and understanding about drug related harm.  It will seek to align the Act with New Zealand’s National Drug Policy and provide a coherent and effective legislative framework for responding to the use of psychoactive drugs.

The Law Commission is currently working on an issues paper which will set out key issues and problems, and make suggestions for reform.  The issues paper will be available before the end of 2009 and public submissions will be invited on it.

Criminal Procedure Simplification

The Criminal Procedure (Simplification) project is being jointly conducted by the Ministry of Justice and the Law Commission. It has two objectives: to reduce unnecessary court delays, through legislative and operational change; and to create a more accessible and simplified criminal procedure. The project reflects many of the recommendations made in the Law Commission’s 2005 report Pre-Trial Processes: Justice Through Efficiency (NZLC R89). It also incorporates a reference received by the Commission to review the law relating to the suppression of names and evidence. The final product will be major changes to the operation of the criminal courts, supported by a new Criminal Procedure Bill to replace and reform relevant provisions of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, District Courts Act 1947, and Crimes Act 1961.

It is anticipated that a draft bill will be released for consultation at the end of 2009, before a final draft bill is developed for introduction and enacted in 2010.

Public Safety and Security

The Commission has been asked to consider and report on whether existing legislation should be amended to cover the conduct of individuals that creates risk to, or public concern about, the preservation of public safety and security.

Work is on hold for the time being because of work on higher criminal justice priorities.

Insanity Review

This project was established a number of years ago to review the defence of insanity in section 23 of the Crimes Act 1961. Some research and consultation was undertaken, with the Commission forming a preliminary view that section 23, despite its acknowledged faults, would be better left alone. However, the arrangements for Ministerial release of insanity detainees provided for in sections 24 and 33 of the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003 require urgent attention.

To address this latter point, work on the project is proceeding with completion expected in 2010.

Official information Act 1982

By enabling scrutiny of government activities, the Official Information Act 1982, contributes to public trust and confidence in government.  The operating environment of the Act is now very different from 25 years ago, in terms of parliamentary and government processes, technology, use of internet, and socio-political norms. This review is intended to update the Act so it continues to operate efficiently and remains influential. The project focus is the effective operation of the legislation for members of the public, officials, journalists, researchers and politicians and it will build on recent research into how the Act works in practice.

Work began on this project mid 2009, with the first objective being to scope the problems and issues, and check these with people who use and operate the Act, preliminary to releasing a public issues paper.

Law of Trusts

The Law Commission is beginning a review of trust law. This will include reviewing the Trustee Act 1956, Charitable Trusts Act 1957, Perpetuities Act 1964, and the Trustee Companies Act 1967 with a view to making necessary or desirable changes and generally modernising these Acts. The Commission is in the early stages of consulting with a range of individuals and organisations to identify particular areas of the law that require examination, and the precise scope of the project has not yet been defined.

The Commission plans to release an issues paper by the end of 2010.

Law of Contempt

This project is not expected to commence until 2010, and its scope and timing are still under consideration.

Alternative models for prosecuting and trying criminal cases

This project has arisen from the Commission’s recommendation in their 2008 report, Disclosure to Court of Defendants’ Previous Convictions, Similar Offending, and Bad Character (NZLC R103) 2008.  We recommended that Government should undertake an inquiry into whether the present adversarial trial process should be modified or replaced with an alternative model, with particular reference to cases involving sexual violence.  The project is being undertaken collaboratively with Elizabeth Mc Donald and Yvette Tinsley from Victoria University of Wellington and Jeremy Finn from the University of Canterbury, who have a Law Foundation grant for research on similar issues.

Preparatory work has commenced.

Monitoring the Evidence Act 2006

Under section 202 of the Evidence Act 2006, the Minister of Justice must ask the Law Commission to report on the operation of the Evidence Act approximately every five years, and recommend any amendments that may be necessary. The first report is likely to be due at the end of 2012.

The Evidence Act Review project has been established to ensure that relevant case law is monitored on an ongoing basis.