Further Reform of Habeas Corpus Procedure

In 1997 the Law Commission recommended a simplified procedure for dealing with habeas corpus applications. The Law Commission's recommendations were implemented by the Habeas Corpus Act 2001. While the new procedure has generally worked well, some practical problems emerged. The Minister of Justice invited the Law Commission to make recommendations to address those problems. The Commission published a draft study paper in September 2007 and invited public submissions. The Commission's Report, Habeas Corpuse Refining the Procedure (R100), makes recommendations for some refinements to the procedure in light of those submissions.