News

State Services Minister Tony Ryall says New Zealanders will be proud their public sector continues to lead the world in integrity. Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2011 was released today and New Zealand is again ranked in first place. “New Zealand’s...

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Australian husbands and wives can now be forced to give evidence against each other in criminal hearings after the rejection of spousal privilege by the High Court. The court yesterday ruled that the right to refuse to testify against a spouse does not exist in common law and that a Queensland...

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The Maori Statutory Board is seeking $295 million over 10 years from Auckland ratepayers to advance Maori interests. A Maori events centre, access to affordable housing, funding for Maori wardens, a marae development fund and ranger training for parks, particularly on ancestral land, are on a...

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Community reaction has forced the Auckland Council to backtrack on its plan to excavate a rising stream at Karekare Beach which is hindering lifeguard operations. The council said on Monday that it was investigating the possibility of digging a channel to lower the waist-high water levels in...

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Hamilton city councillors are poised to abandon an unpopular proposal to change the way rates are struck. Emails have this week been circulating among elected members asking for their views on the move, which would see owners of older homes in more established areas pay less in rates and...

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The Law Society of NSW will today release a major report investigating why women are still under-represented in senior positions in the state’s legal profession and making key recommendations to help accelerate change. The number of women solicitors practising in NSW has grown by 452%...

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DPP asked to consider charge in Baha Mousa case as lawyers claim church is failing to take action The director of public prosecutions has been asked to consider bringing criminal charges against a Roman Catholic priest who was found to have witnessed the shocking condition of a group of...

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Chinese company's sale of $300m worth of stones raises questions about industry watchdog Diamonds worth hundreds of millions of dollars are due to be put on sale on Friday by a joint Chinese-Zimbabwean company with strong military ties. The auction follows last month's decision by the...

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Human rights body says those seeking damages for actions of Israeli military are refused entry to the country to appear in court An Israeli human rights organisation has launched a legal challenge to the state's policy of denying Palestinians permission to leave Gaza to pursue claims for...

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From Carman's theatrics to Blair's conversations and now Prescott's man of the people style, public speaking skills deserve analysis As the law evolves, every aspect of it is routinely unpicked and analysed in exhaustive depth by academics. Yet the dominant medium through which legal arguments...

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States Parties to the international treaty that created the International Criminal Court (ICC) have selected Fatou B. Bensouda of the Gambia as the consensus candidate to be the next prosecutor, the court said today. Ms. Bensouda is expected to be elected on 12 December at the tenth session of...

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No more slating your employer online - firms and employment tribunals are finally getting to grips with social networking Thinking of badmouthing your employer or work colleagues on a social networking site? After the case of the Apple employee, whose dismissal for doing just that was this...

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A Canadian judge has defended monogamy as a key principle of western civilisation. How does that sit with gay marriage laws?   Judges in Canada do not normally find their judgments reported around the world, but chief justice Bauman of the British Columbia supreme court has managed it...

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Foreign Minister Murray McCully has expressed serious concern over the storming of the two British Embassy compounds in Tehran yesterday. “The storming of the British Embassy in Iran was totally unacceptable” Mr McCully said. “We join other Governments and the United...

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The Government will provide $237,500 towards further soil testing in the Thames suburb of Moanataiari, Environment Minister Nick Smith announced today. Moanataiari is built on land reclaimed from the Firth of Thames. The area was filled with mine tailings, mine waste, and clean fill subdivided...

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Minister Responsible for International Climate Change Negotiations Tim Groser will travel to Durban, South Africa, from 1-11 December to attend the annual ministerial conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. “New Zealand will be looking for progress...

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The New Zealand Law Society says details of a proposed mandatory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme will be published early next year and lawyers will be given the opportunity to comment on the proposals. This follows approval by the Law Society’s Board and Council on 17...

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Samsung wins federal court case but still faces high court challenge by Apple before product can go on shelves Samsung is closer to selling its new Galaxy tablet computer in Australia after a court on Wednesday overturned a ruling that favoured Apple's allegations that Samsung had copied its...

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IPCom takes next step by demanding HTC stop selling smartphones using UMTS, as Taiwanese company struggles with wider challenges in market German patent firm IPCom has ordered HTC to stop sales and distribution of all its smartphones in Germany, saying the Taiwanese firm faces fines if it...

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The Ministry of Justice has announced that six court buildings are to close temporarily while earthquake strengthening work is carried out. The Chief District Court Judge will issue orders ceasing hearings at Upper Hutt, Masterton, Feilding, Rangiora, Oamaru and Balclutha Courts from tomorrow...

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Minorities more likely to be jailed for certain crimes Differences remain the subject of contention Offenders from ethnic minorities are more likely than their white counterparts to be sentenced to prison for certain categories of crimes, according to an analysis...

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The resources and oil sector says the rise of the Greens is forcing a change in its approach. While the return of a National-led Government meant initiatives under way would continue, the success of the Green Party at the election was a "major" consideration. "It's a signal...

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The Government has reneged on its promise to give the public a say on whether Bathurst Resources' Denniston opencast coalmine should go ahead, on the first working day after the election, says Forest and Bird. After the Government's back down last year on opening national parks to mining,...

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Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys urges David Cameron to bid for court to be based in UK rather than Germany An Anglo-German tug of war is developing over the site of a new European patents court that could generate hundreds of millions of pounds of business for UK lawyers and...

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Felipe Calderón is accused in letter to international criminal court of presiding over murder and torture in fight against drug gangs The Mexican government has threatened legal action against activists who reported its president and his top officials to the international criminal court for...

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With less than a month until the Christmas holiday period begins, businesses and organisations are being urged to ensure they are prepared for public holiday entitlements and shut down periods. The Department of Labour has issued information advising people about the public holiday...

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The violent police assaults across the US are no coincidence. Occupy has touched the third rail of our political class's venality US citizens of all political persuasions are still reeling from images of unparallelled police brutality in a coordinated crackdown against peaceful OWS protesters...

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The Department of Labour has laid five charges against two parties in the Auckland District Court today in relation to the fatal gas explosion in Onehunga in June this year. The charges have been laid under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 following the workplace accident on 4...

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Two companies from Taranaki have been fined a total of $71,500 after an employee suffered serious injuries when the hired machine he was operating rolled down a slope, pinning him underneath. Taranaki Civil Construction Limited was fined $38,500 and ordered to pay $12,000 in reparation to its...

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The Electoral Commission advises that no campaigning of any kind is allowed on election day. This covers any statement that is likely to influence a voter as to which candidate, party or referendum option they should or shouldn’t vote for, or which influences people to abstain from voting....

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The Government has used the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act to approve changes to the Waimakariri District Plan, freeing up 550 sections at the Silverstream Estates development in west Kaiapoi. Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the plan change lifts the conditional...

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More than half of the people living in a Thames suburb built on arsenic-contaminated land have given their permission for further testing. The Thames-Coromandel District Council has urged the rest of the 212 households in the Moanataiari subdivision - which also has three schools - to fill out...

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The "Climategate" dispute over global warming science was reignited yesterday, when thousands more hacked emails from climate researchers, some of them potentially damaging, were released online on the eve of a vital United Nations climate conference. The private messages between...

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Sir Nicolas Bratza criticises hostility of senior government figures towards European Convention on Human Rights Europe's most powerful judge has publicly complained about "senior members" of the UK government fostering hostility towards the European Convention on Human Rights....

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Police have executed a search warrant at the Herald on Sunday and TVNZ, within hours of a judge's refusal to rule on whether the so-called "tea tapes" were private. Two detectives arrived at the Herald offices at about 3:30pm. Both refused to comment on what they were seeking,...

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It is extremely rare for Auckland to be rocked by an earthquake. But such, of course, was once also the case for Christchurch. Put those two facts together and it is reasonable to expect Aucklanders will have a fairly relaxed view about the threat posed by a quake but, at the same time, recognise...

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There will be no sex expo in Hamilton under the current council's watch. All but one Hamilton City councillor at yesterday's strategy and policy meeting voted against hosting the R18 event at the new Claudelands Event Centre in March, amid accusations of trying to win votes after the V8...

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The directors of failed carpet maker Feltex Carpets and brokerages involved in the initial public float have lost their bid to shift a class suit to Auckland. In an October 7 written judgement, Judge Judith Potter turned down an attempt to shift the class action by some 1800 former Feltex...

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Vodafone New Zealand Limited was fined $81,900 in the Auckland District Court today after being found guilty of breaching the Fair Trading Act in relation to its $1 a day mobile phone internet data charges. In sentencing, Judge Kiernan said that although Vodafone’s behaviour wasn’t...

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Downloaded movie prices are about 30% to 50% higher than buying an actual DVD. That's if you can find the film online Ask anyone who's studied copyright policy – scholars of music and literature, economists, sociologists, law professors – and they'll tell you that the No 1 problem...

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A United Nations policy guide released today offers advice on how to reform and improve criminal justice systems so that they are fairer and more sensitive to the needs of the victims of terrorism and their families. “Victims matter. Their rights and needs, as well as those of their...

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UK's biggest private litigation bust-up affords rare insight into Russian oligarchs' opulent lifestyles Ignore Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin. Set aside Dmitry Medvedev's badminton fetish. Forget the recent gangland murder of Chechnya's best-known poet. Instead, ordinary Russians have...

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The United Nations tribunal set up in the wake of the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s today ordered France to arrest a former tribunal spokesperson who has failed to pay a €7,000 fine imposed for contempt of court. A five-judge appeals panel at the International Criminal Tribunal for the...

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The Financial Markets Authority has published on its website a report written by management consultants Oliver Wyman detailing the findings of local stakeholder research. The research was conducted at the point FMA was established earlier in 2011. The report is based on over 30 interviews and...

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The Financial Markets Authority has begun consulting with the auditing profession and other interested parties on the implementation of the Auditor Regulation Act, which comes into force on 1 July 2012. FMA has published the first of a series of papers seeking submissions and feedback on the...

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A retired Canadian Supreme Court Judge has been appointed to assess David Bain’s claim for compensation for wrongful conviction and imprisonment, Justice Minister Simon Power announced today. Mr Bain’s lawyers notified the Minister last year of his intention to claim compensation...

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Auckland barrister David Smith has been appointed a Judge of the District Court with a jury warrant and a Family Court warrant, Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson announced today. Judge Smith was admitted to the bar in 1974. His practice as a barrister sole in Auckland comprises...

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Justice Minister Simon Power today announced the appointment of 23 Visiting Justices. “Visiting Justices play an important role in New Zealand’s justice system,” Mr Power said. “They have the authority to hear charges and appeals relating to offences against prison...

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Environment Minister Nick Smith today issued guidance for councils implementing the Government’s two new national policy statements for fresh water management and renewable electricity generation. “These two new national policy statements on fresh water management and renewable...

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Matthew Taylor, who presents a new series about neuroscience on Radio 4, argues we should favour treatment over punishment According to a UK Cabinet Office study published last week, the primary motivation for participation in this summer's riots was not individual badness or disadvantage so...

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