New Law Commission projects announced 30 Nov 2015
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Hon Amy Adams
Minister of Justice
30 November 2015
Media statement
New Law Commission projects announced
Justice Minister Amy Adams has asked the Law Commission to begin three new projects in 2016.
These are to review the Property (Relationships) Act 1976, the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 and the Declaratory Judgments Act 1908.
The Property (Relationships) Act 1976 deals with how property is divided when a marriage, civil union or defacto relationship ends. The review is designed to consider any issues that may have arisen since this Act was last reviewed in 2001.
“The division of property at the end of a
relationship is a stressful and often complex process that
affects many thousands of New Zealanders each year. It is
crucial that the law operates as effectively and as fairly
as possible and the review is designed to ensure that is the
case,” says Ms Adams.
Ms Adams has also asked the
Law Commission to work with the Ministry of Justice to begin
the statutory review of the operation of the Search and
Surveillance Act 2012.
“This joint review will
consider how this law has operated since it was passed, and
whether any changes are needed to respond to issues such as
the impact of modern technology on the ability of Police and
other authorities to prevent and investigate crime,” says
Ms Adams.
The Law Commission will also review the
Declaratory Judgments Act 1908 which allows people to go to
the High Court to clarify the meaning of a law, or the
legality of a situation or another party’s
actions.
“This is an area of the law that is long overdue for reform and modernisation,” says Ms Adams.
The next step for initiating the three projects is to confirm their respective terms of reference.
Ms
Adams says the Law Commission is close to completing a
number of its existing projects, including work on the law
of contempt, measures to protect classified and security
sensitive information in the course of criminal and civil
proceedings, and a review of the law on extradition and
mutual legal assistance.
“As part of the Government’s focus on addressing family violence, the Commission will also soon report on ways to improve the court experience of victims in sexual offence cases, and changes to the law of self-defence and the creation of a crime of non-fatal strangulation.”
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