Join us for a thought-provoking seminar delving into significant legal developments in New Zealand, centred around human rights and constitutional issues. Led by legal experts, you will explore Declarations of Inconsistency, the role of rights in administrative decision-making, the impact of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (NZBORA) on statutory interpretation, and New Zealand's compliance with international human rights standards under the Convention Against Torture. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and analysis from professionals at the forefront of these complex legal areas.
Description
Attend and earn 3 CPD hours
Chair:
Bronagh McKenna, Barrister, Kate Sheppard Chambers
9.00am to 9.30am Declarations of Inconsistency: A Significant Development in New Zealand’s Constitutional Architecture
- What is a declaration of inconsistency (DoI) and what is its effect?
- Jurisdiction and procedure:
- Which courts can make a DoI?
- How to make an application for a DoI?
- Evidence in DoI proceedings
- When may the courts show restraint in declining to make a DoI?
- Looking to the future of DoIs: How is the case law likely to develop?
Presented by Bronagh McKenna, Barrister, Kate Sheppard Chambers
9.30am to 10.30am Rights as a Constraint on Administrative Decision-Making
- Do rights impose a substantive or procedural constraint on administrative decisions?
- Overview of Moncrief-Spittle v Regional Facilities Auckland Ltd(SC)
- Contrast with UK and Canadian approaches
- Review of recent High Court decisions
- What consideration of rights is required of an administrative decision-maker?
- What assessment is required of a court reviewing an administrative decision for breach of a right?
- What is the appropriate relief if a breach is established?
Presented by James Tocher, Senior Solicitor, Russell McVeagh
10.45am to 11.45am The Effect of NZBORA on Orthodox Statutory Interpretation
- Recapping Fitzgerald v R [2021] NZSC 131, [2021] 1 NZLR 551
- The “purpose” of s 6 of NZBORA
- What does it mean to ask whether a word “can” (or “can reasonably”) bear a meaning?
- Re Gordon [2019] NZHC 184, [2020] 2 NZLR 436
- How clearly must Parliament speak if it wishes to limit fundamental rights?
- Relying on existing legal meanings: R v Harrison; R v Turner [2016] NZCA 381, [2016] 3 NZLR 602
- Setting out the purpose in the parliamentary debate: D (SC31/2019) v Police [2021] NZSC 2, [2021] 1 NZLR 213
- Implied limits from express words: Wairarapa Moana ki Pouākani Inc v Attorney-General [2023] NZHC 2086
- Overriding legislation and express words: Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Act 2016, sch 1, cl 12
Presented by Scott Fletcher, Barrister, Barristers.comm
10.30am to 10.45am Break
11.45am to 12.15pm New Zealand’s Seventh Periodic Report Under the Convention Against Torture: How Domestic Developments Interplay with International Developments
- Mental health facilities and failure to implement previous report
- Deaths in custody
- Age of criminal responsibility for children
- Repeal intellectual disabilities provision
- Investigate torture and ill treatment promptly and effectively
Presented by Dr. Tony Ellis, Barrister, Blackstone Chambers
Learning Objectives:
- Examine the legal framework of Declarations of Inconsistency (DoIs) in NZ
- Navigate rights-based constraints in administrative decisions.
- Understand statutory interpretation under NZBORA.
- Receive insights into NZ's compliance with human rights standards.
Presenters
James Tocher, Senior Solicitor, Russell McVeagh
James is a Senior Solicitor in the litigation team at Russell McVeagh's Wellington office. Before joining Russell McVeagh in 2023, James was a junior barrister at Thorndon Chambers and was previously a judges' clerk at the High Court in Wellington. James has appeared before all the senior courts on a variety of public law and commercial disputes. James has recent experience with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, including appearing as junior counsel before the Supreme Court in Moncrief-Spittle v Regional Facilities Auckland Ltd [2022] NZSC 138 on freedom of expression issues, and leading argument before the Court of Appeal on the successful Baigent damages claim for breach of natural justice in X & Y v Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki [2022] NZCA 622.
Bronagh McKenna, Barrister, Kate Sheppard Chambers
Bronagh is an experienced litigator, with particular expertise in public law, human rights and international law. Over two decades of legal experience, she has acted for government, international organisations, and blue-chip corporates. Before joining the independent bar in 2023, Bronagh was a Crown Counsel in the Crown Law Office’s Constitutional and Human Rights team. She advised government departments and other Crown agencies on a wide range of matters including the exercise of statutory powers, compliance with administrative law duties, the scope of rights under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, the extent of New Zealand’s international law obligations and their domestic implementation, and inquiry-related issues. Bronagh’s international experience spans both the criminal and commercial spheres. It includes over seven years as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague, prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Bronagh has also practised as a competition lawyer with premier London law firm Slaughter and May.
Scott Fletcher, Barrister, Barrister.comm
Scott is a barrister in Wellington. Prior to stepping out as a full barrister in 2022, Scott clerked for the Honourable Justice Miller in the Court of Appeal and was a junior barrister in Thorndon Chambers. He has appeared in all levels of courts on a variety of different legal issues, including as junior counsel for the Human Rights Commission in Zhang v R [2019] NZCA 507, [2019] 3 NZLR 648 (on the role of NZBORA rights in determining sentencing methodology) and Fitzgerald v R [2021] NZSC 131, [2021] 1 NZLR 551 (on the role of NZBORA in statutory interpretation). Scott’s practice focuses on public law, trust law and Te Tiriti.
Dr. Tony Ellis, Barrister, Blackstone Chambers
Tony is a leading New Zealand and international Human Rights lawyer. Tony practices public law, and criminal law. He is well known for compensation cases covering prisoner’s rights including deaths, or other abuses in custody. His Privy Council case Taito v R for 12 clients resulted in a possible 1500 criminal appeals being wrongly decided. Tony is also the only NZ lawyer ever to have won any cases before the UN Human Rights Committee and UN Committee Against Torture
