The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act: A Commentary

	Authors:	Andrew Butler and Petra Butler
	ISBN:	9780408716390
	Price:	$168 + GST
	Published:	January 2006

The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act: a Commentary is intended to be the authoritative text on the law relating to the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. Written in a lively style, the commentary contains a detailed analysis of this short, but important piece of constitutional legislation. To make it as accessible to readers as possible each chapter of the book follows a pattern of outlining similar provisions in comparable human rights systems (domestic and international), discussing the purposes of each right or provision in issue, engaging in a detailed examination of the meaning of the text of each provision, examining the extent to which justified limits can be placed on guaranteed rights and freedoms, and concluding by considering issues related to remedies where relevant. 

The book reflects the authors’ many years of combined experience in human rights law as both practitioners and academics. Comparative analysis is a strong feature of the commentary. Throughout, the authors evaluate and critique New Zealand and overseas decisions and offer their own views as to how Bill of Rights law should develop in the future. 

It’s accessible style, its strong description and analysis of New Zealand case law, and it’s suggestions as to future developments mean that the commentary will appeal to practitioners, Judges, academics, law students and policy advisors.

About the Authors

ANDREW BUTLER
BCL (NUI, Dub), LLM (Osgoode),
PhD (EUI, Florence),
Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand,
Solicitor (England)

Andrew Butler is a lawyer at Russell McVeagh, Wellington. Before joining Russell McVeagh he was Crown Counsel in the Human Rights Team at the Crown Law Office, where he appeared for the Crown in numerous high-profile human rights cases, including the Zaoui litigation, cases concerning the lawfulness of Special Education 2000, and the detention of refugee status claimants post 9/11. He has written widely in New Zealand and overseas on human rights and constitutional law issues. Between 1991 and 1999 Andrew Butler lectured at the Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington.

PETRA BUTLER
LLM (VUW), PhD (Georg-August University),
Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand,
Solicitor (Germany)

Petra Butler is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington. Before joining Victoria University of Wellington in 2000 she worked in the Bill of Rights, Human Rights team of the Ministry of Justice. Her research and teaching interests relate to international, domestic, and comparative human rights law. Formerly a Judge’s clerk at the South African Constitutional Court, a researcher at the Hochschule fuer Oeffentliche Verwaltung in Speyer, Germany and the Georg-August University in Goettingen, Petra Butler was a Holgate Fellow at Grey College, Durham in 2004. Petra Butler was part of the New Zealand delegation to the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee (2002) and International Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (2003) and is a member of the National Advisory Council to the Human Rights Commission on the National Plan of Action for Human Rights.

Contents

Foreword .....................................................................................................v
Dedication ...................................................................................................vii
Preface .........................................................................................................ix
Note on Comparative Material........................................................................xi
Table of Contents .....................................................................................xvii
Table of Cases ..........................................................................................xlix
Table of Statutes........................................................................................xci
Table of Abbreviations............................................................................cxxxv

PART 1 HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
Chapter 1: An Overview of the Bill of Rights Act and its place in New Zealand’s Constitution
Chapter 2: Background to and History of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990
Chapter 3: The Legal Protection of Human Rights in New Zealand: A Short History and Overview of the Contemporary Scene

PART 2 GENERAL AND OPERATIONAL MATTERS
Chapter 4: Interpretation — Principles and Sources
Chapter 5: Burden and Benefit of BORA
Chapter 6: Limiting Rights
Chapter 7: Interaction with Other Enactments
Chapter 8: Attorney-General’s Duty to Report to Parliament

PART 3 SUBSTANTIVE RIGHTS
Chapter 9: Life
Chapter 10: Torture, Cruel, Degrading, or Disproportionately Severe Treatment or Punishment
Chapter 11: Right Against Medical and Scientific Experimentation and Right to Refuse Medical Treatment
Chapter 12: Electoral Rights
Chapter 13: Freedom of Expression
Chapter 14: Freedom of Religion
Chapter 15: Freedom of Assembly and Association
Chapter 16: Freedom of Movement
Chapter 17: Non-discrimination and Minority Rights
Chapter 18: Unreasonable Search and Seizure
Chapter 19: Arbitrary Arrest and Detention
Chapter 20: Rights of Persons Arrested or Detained
Chapter 21: Rights of Persons Charged with an Offence: Threshold Issues
Chapter 22: Rights of Persons Charged with an Offence
Chapter 23: Minimum Standards of Criminal Procedure
Chapter 24: Retroactive Criminal Liability and Double Jeopardy
Chapter 25: Natural Justice, Judicial Review and Crown Litigation

PART 4 REMEDIES
Chapter 26: Remedies — General Observations
Chapter 27: Compensation
Chapter 28: Declaration of Inconsistency
Chapter 29: Exclusion of Evidence
Chapter 30: Stay, Discharge, Appeal and Sentence Reduction
Chapter 31: Extraordinary Remedies, Specific Performance, Judicial Review,Declarations, Habeas Corpus and Torts
Chapter 32: Supervisory Remedies
Chapter 33: Costs
Chapter 34: Litigation Issues

PART 5 CONCLUSIONS
Chapter 35: Reflections

Appendix
Index