News

Former billionaire could be entitled to claim up to £145 an hour in court costs under means-testing procedures introduced in 2010 Asil Nadir, the former Polly Peck tycoon, has been granted legal aid to fight the multimillion-pound theft charges he spent 17 years running from, a decision...

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Iceland's Geir Haarde becomes first world leader to face charges in relation to the global financial crisis The former prime minister of Iceland has been formally charged over his part in the collapse of the country's banks in 2008. Geir Haarde was charged with failing to prevent the...

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The development of the internet and social media means law firms should find new ways of protecting reputations Much has been written about what the Twitter leaks mean for the future of privacy law. It seems a safe bet that there will be a period of ebb and flow, and something will happen to...

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The US department of justice has charged 18 airlines with the offences related to fixing the rates they charge for air freight Article history British Airways is paying $89.5m (£54.5m)to settle a claim brought by customers in the US affected by an international price fixing cartel for air...

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Thema International Fund had supposed assets of $1.1bn, the actual value of the fund was $312m according to HSBC HSBC has agreed to pay $62.5m (£38m)to settle legal action in New York filed by Bernard Madoff's fraud victims. In a regulatory filing Europe's biggest bank said it has entered...

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The suggestion of strike action or work-to-rule by some legal aid providers is an indicator of the concern felt at plans to expand the Public Defence Service (PDS). It is important to stress that the Law Society does not advocate a strike or work to rule. This is not an available lawful...

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Arapeta Victor Hamilton, a former Director and Chief Executive of Ngapuhi Iwi Social Services Limited (NISS), has today been found guilty of five counts of fraud following charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). NISS was a Northland company set up to deliver services to Maori...

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A new Chief of the Employment Relations Authority has been appointed by Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson. Alastair Dumbleton will lead the organisation through to May 2015. “The ERA is a very valuable part of New Zealand’s employment relations system. Its members investigate...

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The legal representatives of convicted murderer Scott Watson will be given the opportunity to comment on Kristy McDonald QC’s report on his application for the exercise of the Royal prerogative of mercy, Justice Minister Simon Power announced today. The Minister has asked Ms McDonald to...

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Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft has thrown his weight behind the Government's military activity camps for troubled youths, calling them a success that could be expanded and applied to other parts of the country. The MACs (military activity camps) have been controversial since their...

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A controversial Ngapuhi activist's claim the Maori King has no right to his title has been written off as "tribal chauvinism" by a Treaty of Waitangi historian. Ngapuhi Matarahurahu hapu leader David Rankin said giving Tainui leader Tuheitia Paki the title "Maori King"...

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The Government says it will not alter its internet copyright legislation, despite UN criticism that such laws are an attack on human rights. In a report issued late last week, UN special rapporteur Frank La Rue said access to the internet had become a human right and was an important way for...

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Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright has today released a report investigating the use of 1080 – Evaluating the use of 1080: Predators, poisons and silent forests. In the report Dr Wright recommends against a moratorium on 1080 citing the damage that would be done...

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Litigants, some with mental health problems, will be forced to represent themselves in emotional divorce and childcare cases The number of people who represent themselves in the civil courts – because they cannot afford a lawyer and fall outside the limits that are set for legal-aid...

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Barclays has emerged victorious in a long-running legal battle over its actions on the eve of the credit crisis, during which it allegedly dumped hundreds of millions of dollars of toxic mortgage assets on to unsuspecting investors. The New York Supreme Court approved the dismissal of a...

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The United Nations has declared internet access a human right and criticised "three strikes" laws like that in New Zealand which may see users lose access for repeat infringements. In a recent report UN special rapporteur Frank La Rue said the internet had become, "a key means...

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Justice Minister Simon Power today announced the 14 members of the new Legal Aid Tribunal, which comes into effect on 1 July. The tribunal replaces the Legal Aid Review Panel, and will review decisions made by the independent Legal Services Commissioner. The commissioner, who is employed by...

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A contractor's 5m fall from a ladder has cost an Auckland-based company $55,000 in fines and $30,000 reparation. Waitakere Contractors Limited, a spouting manufacturer and installer, pleaded guilty in Auckland District Court to three charges under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992....

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Previous local government shake-ups have sucked rates from rural areas to subsidise nearby towns, experts say. The most recent, the speedy creation of the Auckland Supercity, led to cost blowouts and the erosion of local democracy, according to AUT's David Wilson. But the impact on small...

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The country's cities could take control of small-town New Zealand, as ministers investigate the biggest nationwide council shake-up in nearly 25 years. Now, a report obtained by the Herald on Sunday reveals details of a "comprehensive review" of local government that is to go to the...

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US lawsuit alleges that Sarah Morris produced her abstract paintings by colouring in between the creases of their patterns with household gloss A British artist represented in the Tate's collection is facing accusations of plagiarism and a multimillion-pound claim for compensation from six...

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A High Court ruling that found a financial adviser breached her duty by recommending an investor have too great an exposure to finance companies is being seen as a test case and a possible sign of things to come when tighter financial advisory legislation comes into force on July 1. The case...

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Good news for app developers as crowdsourcing company looks to kill app patents with $5,000 bounty An American commercial patent research company says it plans to seek out "prior art" to invalidate a patent being used by MacroSolve to sue Apple, Android and BlackBerry app developers,...

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Celebrities who make false statements about financial services could face a fine of up to $1 million under new laws that are being drafted, Commerce Minister Simon Power says. Some insurance and finance companies use well-known personalities to publicise their services and Mr Power said today...

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The New Zealand Law Society’s Family Law Section is hosting a Symposium at Parliament on Friday, 3 July on the future of the Family Court. The day-long symposium is being attended by lawyers, counsellors, psychologists and mediators involved in the Family Court, as well as Judges of the...

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The Minister of Justice, the Hon Simon Power, has announced a four-month extension to the deadline for responding to a discussion paper on the Family Courts which is due to be released in September 2011. Mr Power’s announcement came during his attendance at a Symposium on the Family...

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Barristers failing to complete their annual quota of CPD now dominate Bar Standards Board disciplinary proceedings Tucked away deep within the Bar Standards Board website is a barristers' rogue gallery. Recent offences committed by members of the bar include maliciously ordering advertising...

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Commerce Minister Simon Power today announced further Cabinet decisions on the review of securities law. They include: A system to regulate securities exchanges. Licensing regimes for specific financial sector participants: fund managers, independent trustees of...

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The new Gisborne Community Probation Service (CPS) centre will enable a bigger team of probation officers to better manage community offenders in the area, Corrections Minister Judith Collins said. The new centre, which opened today, will provide management of all community based sentences and...

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Economic Development Minister David Carter and Customs Minister Maurice Williamson today announced changes to wine excise tax regulations which will benefit more than half the country’s wineries. From 1 July, thresholds for the payment of excise tax will lift tenfold, allowing smaller...

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The Board of the new Environmental Protection Authority was today announced by Environment Minister Nick Smith at the Environment Defence Society Conference in Auckland. “The new authority is about strengthening New Zealand’s environmental management and efficiently bringing...

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New laws to manage the environmental effects of activities like petroleum exploration and mining within New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) were announced today by Environment Minister Nick Smith at the Environmental Defence Society Conference in...

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The Law Commission published an Issues Paper on 23 May ‘Final Words: Death and Cremation Certification in New Zealand’ (NZLC IP23, 2011) examining the strengths and weaknesses of the Death and Cremation certification systems. This paper is designed to help promote discussion of these...

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The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has commenced an investigation into Australian exploration and mining company Greywolf Resources NL (formerly Greywolf Goldmining NL), following allegations that fraud may have been involved in its application for exploration permits. SFO Director, Adam Feeley,...

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New Zealand Police and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) confirmed today that they are jointly investigating allegations of employee fraud at the Hibernian Catholic Benefit Society (Hibernian). The Hibernian Society is a friendly society which offers a range of financial services and mutual...

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Mladic's detention in the Hague is a triumph of the global movement for accountability. Now let's get the US fully on board At last they've got him. There's not much good news from Europe at the moment, but the fact that Ratko Mladic is now sitting in the detention cell of an international...

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The structure of legal proceedings are perfectly suited to compelling drama – most potently when the subject is injustice Having been a barrister for more than nine years by the time I started to write my first novel, I initially took it for granted quite how helpful it was that I had...

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Issues raised by Jonathan Sumption job include whether appointments should be controlled by the president of the court Should parliament scrutinise judicial appointments? That's one of the questions to be examined by the House of Lords constitution committee as part of an inquiry it launched a...

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Wilbert Rideau spent 44 years behind bars. Now he's campaigning for society to help prisoners start a new life I first encountered Wilbert Rideau in a high-security prison in 1999, when I was 15 years into my own life sentence. Sitting in a classroom alongside a dozen other lifers, I watched a...

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The Legal Services Board has issued guidance paving the way for a partial ban. But could one work? Should lawyers be allowed to pay for work referred to them? The debate remains as heated today as it was in 2004 when the Law Society, under pressure from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), first...

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In the crude calculus of who is up and who is down, judges are scoring better than MPs these days. Not surprisingly, MPs are resentful In the crude calculus of who is up and who is down, judges are scoring better than MPs these days. Not surprisingly, MPs are resentful. The customarily robust...

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A United Nations-ordered panel investigating human rights abuses in Libya says that both Government forces and the opposition have committed war crimes during the weeks of fighting following the uprising against the regime of Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi. The three-member International...

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Victims of human trafficking have the right to seek legal redress and compensation for the violation of their rights, a United Nations expert said today, voicing concern that those trafficked were often treated as “instruments” of criminal investigation, rather than people with...

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The arrest of Ratko Mladic after he spent 16 years on the run demonstrates that “ending impunity requires a united front,” the chief prosecutor of the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the Balkan conflicts said today, pledging that the Bosnian Serb wartime military figure would...

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Family First NZ says that a split decision from the Court of Appeal for a case by Right to Life Inc which was challenging the lawfulness of many abortions approved by certifying consultants shows that the role of the Abortion Supervisory Committee (ASC) is redundant and it is now time for the law...

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Paid parental leave payments will increase from 1 July 2011, putting extra money into the pockets of families with new babies. Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson says the maximum parental leave payment will increase by $17 from $441.62 per week to $458.82 per week. The minimum payment for...

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A cleaning company has today been fined $80,000 for two separate incidents in August last year when employees were badly injured. The Hawera District Court heard that both incidents happened at a meat processing plant in the town where the company, Ecowize, had the contract to clean the...

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Justice Minister Simon Power today welcomed the opening of the Hamilton Public Defence Service (PDS), which will operate at the Hamilton District and High Courts. The PDS is a Government-funded independent criminal legal aid and duty lawyer service, which uses salaried staff rather than...

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Some three months after the Christchurch earthquake, strong leadership and commitment from Ministry of Justice staff together with unique arrangements have been central to the Ministry’s earthquake response in keeping the courts and wider justice services running, says Minister for Courts,...

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New Zealand’s $2.3 billion dollar export education industry will be strengthened through changes to immigration policy for international students announced today by Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman. Dr Coleman says ensuring students are genuinely here to study, and enabling the best...

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