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Summary: General overview of New Zealand's national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.
National laws on children's rights Status of the CRC in national law The CRC has not been directly incorporated into domestic New Zealand law, and must be given effect through implementing legislation. Nevertheless, it is often cited by national courts in cases that implicate children's rights. Constitution: New Zealand does not have a written constitution. Legislation: The two main acts relating to children's rights in New Zealand are the Children, Young Person's and their Families Act of 1989 and the Children's Commissioner's Act of 2003; also relevant is the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (1990), later amended by the Human Rights Act (1993). Other statues relating to children include, but are not limited to: Care of Children Act (2004) and Care of Children Amendment Act (2008) Children, Young Persons and Their Families (Youth Courts Jurisdiction and Orders) Amendment Act 2010 Education Act (1989) Crimes Act (1961) Sentences (Offences Against Children) Amendment Act 2008 Privacy Act (1993) Official Information Act (1982) Legal Research Case Law Case Law Research Compliance with the CRC In depth analysis: Current legal reform projects
The New Zealand Parliament maintains an official website (http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ) which offers the text and status of laws under review. The GlobaLex initiative at New York University has published a guide to legal research in New Zealand (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/new_zealand.htm), and the New Zealand Legal Information Institute provides details of case law, legislation, law journals, pending reforms, and treaties (http://www.nzlii.org). The U.S. Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/newzealand.php) and World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/242.html) have compiled a selection of relevant links, and the University of Waikato offers links to Maori legal resources (http://www.waikato.ac.nz/library/resources/law/s_nz.shtml).
CRC Jurisprudence
The New Zealand Court of Appeal ruled on Hosking and Hosking v Runting and Pacific Magazines New Zealand Ltd in March 2004 regarding children's right to privacy.
The Courts of New Zealand maintain an official website (http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/), and the Ministry of Justice supplies links to all of the different judicial bodies in the country (http://www.justice.govt.nz/courts). The New Zealand Legal Information Institute offers an extensive searchable database that includes decisions from many courts and tribunals (http://www.nzlii.org/databases.html#nz_cases).
In its 2011 Concluding Observations, the Committee on the Rights of the Child “noted with concern that in spite of recent legislative developments in the field of child rights, the harmonization of national law with the Convention and its Optional Protocols is not completed (for example, in the area of adoption legislation) and that not all domestic laws affecting children are harmonized even amongst themselves.” The Committee urged New Zealand to “[e]nsure that all existing existing domestic legislation relating to children is consistent and is brought in compliance with the Convention and that it supersedes any existing customary law, including Maori customary law.”
To be completed.
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects in New Zealand.