NZCPR Newsletter: A Question of Sovereignty

Who’s running our country?

It seems like a simple enough question.

In New Zealand, our Parliament is sovereign. With National, ACT, and New Zealand First commanding a majority of votes in the House, the elected Coalition holds the reins.

But is it that straightforward?

Ele Ludemann: Better laws to curtail activism

Attorney General Judith Collins is calling for better law making which will curtail judicial activism:

Attorney-General Judith Collins KC has warned the judiciary to focus on its core role and not usurp other branches of government, while also slamming “lazy” lawmakers who fail to do their job properly by drafting vaguely worded legislation.

Imprecise, vaguely written law with ill-defined or undefined terms are an invitation to judicial activism.

Dr Will Jones: Marine Le Pen Banned From Standing in Next Presidential Election

Marine Le Pen will not be allowed to stand in France’s next Presidential election after being banned from politics for five years following conviction on embezzlement charges in a ruling condemned by Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister as a “declaration of war by Brussels”. The Telegraph has more.

The National Rally (RN) chief was also handed a four-year prison sentence, of which two years are suspended, and a €100,000 fine.

Ramesh Thakur: Who Will Hold Politically Biased Judges to Account?

As the firewalls of resistance to populist advance crumble one by one under assault from enraged voters, the final frontier of elite resistance is the courts. The legal clerisy as part of the ruling elite is the last line of defence for safeguarding victories already won by social justice warriors in their long march through the institutions.

Dr Bryce Edwards: Democracy Briefing - Foundations of a constitutional crisis?

The first question in politics is “who rules?” It’s at the forefront of the debate about David Seymour’s Treaty Principles bill, which holds that the Government has the ultimate right to govern and Parliament has the full power to make laws. Te Pati Māori argues that Māori never ceded sovereignty and should hold governing power over themselves.

But there’s another power struggle taking place in the background of this debate: a quiet but profound contest between Parliament and the courts over the power to make laws. In the week that Seymour’s bill passed its first reading, an open letter from forty-two members of the King’s Council called on the Prime Minister and the Attorney General to abandon the legislation, and it contained the aside “even if Parliament can legislate in this way (which is uncertain)…”

Roger Partridge: Who makes the law?

Picture a country where unelected judges, not elected politicians, make the laws. Where courts rewrite statutes they do not like and reshape long-standing legal rules based on their views of ‘society’s changing values.’ Sound far-fetched? The New Zealand Initiative’s latest report – of which I am the author – shows this scenario is becoming a reality in New Zealand.

“Who Makes the Law? Reining in the Supreme Court” examines how our Supreme Court has strayed beyond its proper constitutional role. The report argues that the Court has adopted a dangerously loose approach to interpreting statutes, sometimes even ignoring Parliament’s clear language. More and more, it is also reshaping common law principles to align with judges’ views of society’s changing values.

Roger Partridge: Who Makes the Law? Reining in the Supreme Court

This report warns of a looming constitutional crisis in New Zealand, as the Supreme Court increasingly oversteps its bounds, threatening the balance of power between the courts and Parliament.

The report, "Who Makes the Law? Reining in the Supreme Court," authored by Roger Partridge, Chair and Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, examines recent Supreme Court decisions that have sparked widespread concern among legal scholars, practitioners, and politicians.

NZCPR Newsletter: The Judiciary on Trial

The Marine and Coastal Area (Customary Marine Title) Amendment Bill has now had its first reading in Parliament and has been sent to the Justice Select Committee for deliberation. 

With almost 600 claims on hold while the law is changed – some 200 in front of the High Court with the balance lodged with the Crown for Direct Negotiation – the timeframe for dealing with the Bill is tight. The closing date for submissions is 15 October, and the Bill is expected to be passed by Christmas.

NZCPR Newsletter: MACA Misinformation

Last month, the new Government announced a timetable for implementing their Coalition promise to restore the Marine and Coastal Area Act to what Parliament had originally intended. This was in response to activist judges misinterpreting the law in such a way that Maori tribal groups were on track to gain control of New Zealand’s entire coastline right out to the edge of the 12 nautical mile Territorial Sea.

Ross Meurant: Fundamental Flaw

FUNDAMENTAL FLAW IN ACT’s POLICY allows Courts to replace Democracy.

The latest twist in law-making in New Zealand, firmly elevates the Courts above the Sovereignty of Parliament.

The Supreme Court decision in the Peter Ellis case (1) case, according to MSM “reaffirms” Maori Customary Law over Statutory Law.

Audrey Young somehow got Grannie Herald to publish her bombshell on this abuse of position by the Courts. (2) [I acknowledge that many don’t read pay to read premium viz Herald, having been turned off by the haemorrhaging Maori terminology this once great Guardian of the Fourth Estate.]

Owen Jennings: ‘Going, going, gone’

An interesting court case in Wellington. A 76 year old man sold his house to a developer. His daughter is disputing his right to do so. She is claiming there were understandings about the property not being sold because there is tikanga involved, her baby’s placenta is buried on the property and that there were clearly issues of ethnicity and cultural values at stake.

Without commenting on this particular case it does, however raise significant issues about the nation’s slide into what can only be a quagmire of confusion, uncertainty, heartache and vagueness. The harder the elitists, the media and the academics push for the adoption of Māori language, Māori ownership, Māori control, the adoption of ill-defined terms, the incorporation of Māori factors into science and, particularly, if the courts continue down the path of judicial activism by embracing ethnic and cultural values into judgements and judicial process the greater the problems will become.

NZCPR Weekly: Judicial Activism

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we look into the disastrous impact the former Chief Justice’s judicial activism has had on the country as the first of 200 tribal claims to the coast reach High Court hearings this year; our NZCPR Guest Commentator British journalist Melanie Phillips outlines the positive change that is occurring in the UK now that they have a conservative Judge as their Chief Justice, and our poll asks whether you support introducing Maori tikanga into the law.

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.  

NZCPR Weekly: The Dangers of Judicial Activism

Dear NZCPR Reader,   

This week we examine judicial activism and the problems it causes society, our NZCPR Guest Commentator Anthony Willy outlines the constraints on judges and explains why a recent speech given by a sitting Judge is in breach of the judicial conduct guidelines, and our poll asks whether you believe judicial activism should be subjected to a public complaint and censure process..

*To read the newsletter click HERE.
*To register for the NZCPR Weekly mailing list, click HERE.