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10. It was perhaps a tribute to the standing that the Law Commission has in New
Zealand that everyone approached was happy to help and gave liberally of their
time to do so.
11. The evaluator prepared a draft report and submitted it for comment to:
· The Ministry of Justice
· The Associate Minister of Justice
· The President of the Law Commission and the current Commissioners
· The two former Presidents of the Law Commission
· Chief Parliamentary Counsel.
Helpful and extensive comments were made. Where appropriate the evaluator
reflected the comments in the final Report.
12. The evaluator has been required to look at the Commission over a period of
fifteen years. Necessarily not everything that happened over such a period
represents a practice that is still current. That point needs to be appreciated.
13. The Law Commission has been led by three Presidents of great distinction. The
first was Rt. Hon Sir Owen Woodhouse, who took the position upon retiring as
President of the New Zealand Court of Appeal. The second President was Rt
Hon Sir Kenneth Keith, who left the Law Commission to become a Judge of the
New Zealand Court of Appeal. The third and current President is Hon Justice
Baragwanath, a High Court Judge who has had a distinguished career at the Bar.
All of them have brought special but different strengths to the Law
Commission.
14. The Report may not say as much as it should about the strengths of the Law
Commission. A Report of this type necessarily concentrates on how things
could be made better. But the strengths of the Law Commission are many. The
Law Commission has been fortunate in attracting to its ranks some of the most
eminent jurists and lawyers that New Zealand has to offer. Their work has
served the public interest.