NZ Bill of Rights Act
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Tuesday, May 18th, 2010Vince Siemer has reshaped the law of contempt in New Zealand. The Supreme Court has ruled 3-2 that the Bill of Rights right to a jury trial applies to those charged with contempt, since they face potential jail terms of more than 3 months. But since it’s unfeasible to give all contempt respondents jury trials, […]
The right to receive information revived…
Monday, May 3rd, 2010I have long thought that our official information laws ought to be affected by the NZ Bill of Rights Act’s guarantee of freedom of expression, which says: Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form. Surely, I thought, […]
NZ’s Dunne v Canwest
Monday, May 3rd, 2010Here’s a column I wrote about the Dunne case suggesting that the media’s predictions of doom and gloom were wrong. Judging by the media reaction, Justice Young’s decision to order TV3 to include Peter Dunne and Jim Anderton in its leaders’ debate last week was one of the most astonishing blunders in judicial history. Media […]
Burning for reform
Thursday, March 25th, 2010Are republicans the only people in NZ who can commit the offence of flag-burning by burning a flag? You might remember that Paul Hopkinson had his conviction for flag-burning overturned in the High Court, because Justice Ellen France held that the offence needed to be interpreted narrowly to provide space for free speech rights under […]
Bare reasoning
Friday, March 12th, 2010In Lowe v New Zealand Police, Clifford J rightly overturns Nick Lowe’s conviction for offensive behaviour for cycling in the nude. It was on World Nude Bike Day, but Mr Lowe, “a committed cyclist and naturist”, doesn’t need that incentive to bike about naked. For example, he competes in the Coast to Coast without clothes […]
BSA fucks up
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010The Broadcasting Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against the radio broadcast of Lily Allen’s song “Fuck You”, broadcast on Sunday and Tuesday afternoons on The Edge. I think they were wrong to do so, and I think it demonstrates that they still don’t really understand the Bill of Rights Act. If it were just […]
Crashing and burning
Thursday, January 21st, 2010Valerie Morse has lost her appeal to the Court of Appeal over her conviction for flag-burning at the Anzac Day Dawn Service. (For some reason, this wasn’t regarded as a “decision of public interest”, but it’s posted here). The judges all wrote separate judgments. Justice Arnold and the President of the Court of Appeal, William […]
New Canadian responsible journalism defamation defence
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009The Canadian Supreme Court has followed most of the rest of the common law world in developing a privilege to publish information in the public interest, providing the publication was “responsible”. Both are elements for the defence to prove. It’s broadly similar to the UK defence in Reynolds – so it’s wider than the current versions […]
Twittering in the courtroom
Saturday, December 12th, 2009It’s been allowed in the US and Australia, with an Australian judge saying: I believe that the public has a legitimate right to be fully informed of proceedings, particularly proceedings such as (the iiNet case), which have attracted considerable public interest. Twittering can serve to inform the public in a more speedy and comprehensive manner […]
Are you really anonymous online?
Monday, November 23rd, 2009According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 55% of bloggers blog under a pseudonym. Obviously plenty of others use pseudonyms when posting comments about the place. Some of the posts by bloggers and commenters breach laws such as defamation, privacy, breach of confidence, harrassment and copyright. In most cases, the relevant ISPs have access […]
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