Hamilton will be home to justice base: Little
Hamilton will be the headquarters for a new commission tasked with reviewing miscarriage of justice claims.
Justice Minister Andrew Little made the announcement yesterday and has appointed Colin Carruthers QC to head the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
Carruthers will serve as chief commissioner of the CCRC for 18 months. Labour promised the new commission in its coalition agreement with NZ First. The Greens also backed the proposal. The CCRC will start work in July and is tasked with reviewing convictions and sentences where there is a claimed miscarriage of justice. The commission can decide to refer cases to the appeal court but doesn’t determine guilt or innocence.
Little, speaking at Waikato University, said the commission will be a ‘‘safety valve’’ in the country’s justice system when miscarriages of justice are done.
‘‘And they are done in New Zealand and we’ve have some significant cases where there have been miscarriages of justice and it has taken a long time for that to be detected, and for things to be put right, and ultimately for justice to be done,’’ he said.
Announcing Hamilton as the base for the commission, Little said it’s important the CCRC is independent from the ‘‘big bureaucratic and judicial centres’’ of
Auckland and Wellington.
It was also important the commission reside in a city that had a university with a law faculty, Little said.
‘‘My expectation is that the commission will form a relationship with the law school here at Waikato.’’
Currently, if someone believes they have suffered a miscarriage of justice they can apply to the Governor-General, who seeks advice from the Justice Minister, for exercise of the Royal prerogative of mercy that can be used to grant a free pardon or to refer a conviction or sentence back to an appeal court.
Little said the current process can take anywhere from months to years to resolve a claim.
‘‘Some people have expressed concern that, up to now, the way the process operates depends on going through the ministry whose job it is to support the very judiciary that might have been the source of the miscarriage in the first place,’’ he said.
A feature of the commission will be a prison outreach. About 50 per cent of the country’s prison population is located north of Taupo¯ . Carruthers, who has practised in both defence and prosecution roles, said New Zealand has a very good criminal justice system, but it isn’t perfect.
‘‘Miscarriages of justice are rare but when they happen they not only cause innocent people great distress but they also result in criticism of the judicial system,’’ he said.
Carruthers will be supported by an establishment advisory group. Members of the group include: Professor Tracey McIntosh, Nigel Hampton QC, Dr Anna Sandiford, Dr Tamasailau Suaalii-Sauni,
Tim McKinnel and Professor Elisabeth McDonald.
Hamilton barrister Roger Laybourn said the formation of the commission is welcome and overdue.
The concept of having the commission operate separately from the justice department and the court system is important, Laybourn said.
‘‘If we get the commission addressing miscarriages of justice, then it will add a little bit of extra strength and truth to the word justice when you’re talking about the justice system,’’ he said. ‘‘Decency requires that when mistakes are made that they are addressed as quickly as possible and under the current court hierarchy and the Royal prerogative of mercy system . . . it clearly hasn’t worked.’’