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Corrections Bill 2002 (Consistent) (Sections 9, 17, 21, 22, 23(5), 27(1)) [2003] NZBORARp 8 (10 February 2003)
Last Updated: 1 November 2020
Corrections Bill 2002
10 February 2003
Attorney-General
Legal Advice
Consistency with the New Zealand Bill of
Rights Act 1990: Corrections Bill 2002
- We
have considered whether the Corrections Bill 2002 (PCO 4467/13) is consistent
with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (the
"Bill of Rights Act". We
understand that this Bill is to be considered by the Cabinet Legislation
Committee on Thursday, 13 February
2003.
- The
Corrections Bill provides a new framework for the corrections system. It covers
the administration of custodial sentences and
remands, community-based
sentences, home detention and parole.
- This
Bill repeals the Penal Institutions Act 1954 and its associated regulations.
However, some of the provisions of the Penal Institutions
Act and regulations
are carried forward into the Bill. A number of the provisions in the regulations
carried forward into the Bill,
such as those setting out the minimum
entitlements of prisoners, have human rights implications.
- We
have concluded that this Bill appears to achieve overall consistency with the
Bill of Rights Act. We would, however, draw your
attention to a number of the
provisions of the Bill that appear to give rise to prima facie issues
under the following sections of the Bill of Rights Act:
- section 9 (the
right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, degrading or
disproportionately severe treatment or punishment)
- section 17 (the
right to freedom of association)
- section 21 (the
right to be secure from unreasonable search and seizure)
- section 22 (the
right to be free from arbitrary arrest and detention)
- section 23(5)
(everyone deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect
for the inherent dignity of the person);
and
- section 27(1)
(the right to the observance of the principles of natural
justice)
Section 9 and Section 23(5)
- We
consider that provisions in the Bill (in particular, those that provide officers
and staff members with the power to use force,
including the use of non lethal
weapons on prisoners passively resisting a lawful order, and those concerning
the restraint of prisoners
(clauses 84, 86 and 88)) may appear to be prima
facie inconsistent with sections 9 and 23(5) of the Bill of Rights Act.
- However,
we are of the view that the limits and restrictions placed on the exercise of
these powers (clauses 84, 85, 86, 87, 88 and
89) provide adequate mechanisms to
ensure that the powers are consistent with sections 9 and 23(5) of the Bill of
Rights Act.
- We
also considered clause 69(3) of the Bill. Clause 69(3) provides that prisoners
held in police jails may be denied 1 or more of
the minimum entitlements
provided for under clause 69 of the Bill having regard to the facilities
available and resources at the
police jail. A person sentenced to imprisonment
can only be detained in a prison jail for a specified period of time (clauses
34(5))
or purpose (clause 64). We consider that clause 69(3) can be read
consistently with sections 9 and 23(5) of the Bill of Rights Act
and does not
authorise prisoners detained in police jails to be subject to conditions that do
not meet minimum health and safety
requirements.
Section 21 Right
to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure (in conjunction with
sections 9 and 23(5))
- We
considered that a number and wide variety of provisions in the Bill raise issues
of consistency with section 21 of the Bill of
Rights. The provisions range from
existing powers to enable officers and staff members with the power to conduct
"rub down" and strip
searches of prisoners and searches of their cells (clause
99), existing powers to use scanners and dogs in carrying out those searches
(clauses 98 and 99), to existing powers to intercept mail and telephone
conversations of prisoners (clauses 106 and 113) and powers
to conduct drug and
alcohol testing (clause 124).
- The
Bill also introduces new powers in association with the power to conduct
searches. These new powers include the enhanced procedures
relating to the use
of illuminating and magnifying devices around – but not in - the anal and
genital areas when performing
a strip search (clause 91(4), the use of x-rays to
facilitate searches (clause 99(9)), and the power to search visitors and staff
(clauses 100, 101, and 102).
- We
have previously considered the issue of the enhanced procedures surrounding the
use of illuminating and magnifying devices in association
with searches of the
anal and genital areas. We advised you on 15 February 2002 as
follows:
Firstly, we consider that the requirement for inmates to
"squat with their buttocks adjacent to their heels" and allow Corrections
officers to visually inspect their anal and genital areas, with the option of
illuminating and magnifying devices, to be inherently
degrading and an affront
to the dignity of inmates. We therefore consider that the exercise of such
powers appears to be unreasonable
in terms of sections 9, 21, and 23(5) of the
Bill of Rights Act.
In stating this, we are mindful of recent statements by the Court of Appeal
comments in R v Allison CA 387/01 26 November 2001 where the Court
affirmed, at paras 22 – 23 of the judgment, the common law principles that
a prison
inmate retains all rights and privileges save for those that are
inconsistent with the prison regime. The Court endorsed the views
of the House
of Lords expressed in R (on the application of Daly) v Secretary of State for
the Home Department [2001] HRLR 1103. The House of Lords held, at 1114, that
there was a presumption that there should be "the minimum intrusion into the
rights of prisoners
consistent with the need to maintain security, order and
discipline in prisons."
- We
considered at that time that there was insufficient justification for the
introduction of these enhanced procedures. However, in
the course of the
development of this Bill we have had the opportunity to work further with
officials from the Department of Corrections
to develop procedures that would
limit or restrict the exercise of these powers. These procedures would still
enable the objective
of restricting the amount of drugs entering prisons to be
met. These procedures, in addition to the other restrictions on the exercise
of
the search powers, mean that an officer can only conduct a strip search using
these enhanced powers:
- if he or she has
reasonable grounds for believing that the prisoner has an unauthorised item in
his or her possession (clause 99(3)(a))
- if the officer
has prior approval of his or her manager before conducting such a search (clause
99(3)(b))
- and if the use
of the procedures is necessary for the purposes of detecting the unauthorised
item (clause 99(5)).
- We
are of the view that all the search and seizure powers conferred on officers and
staff members in the Bill are reasonable for the
purposes of section 21. In
coming to this conclusion we have taken into account the Bill’s purpose,
and the limits and restrictions
that constrain those powers (in addition to the
clauses set out in para 5 above, which prescribe the limits of the exercise of
the
power, see clauses 94, 95, 104, 109, 110, 114 –122, and 125
–127). We are also mindful of the robust procedures that
the Bill puts in
place to enable prisoners to make a complaint about the treatment that they have
received (Part 2 subpart 6 of the
Bill).
Section 17 Right
to freedom of association
- We
have considered those provisions in the Bill that provide prison managers with
the power to segregate prisoners (clauses 57 –59)
and the power of the
chief executive and inspector of corrections to direct certain prisoners to be
transferred to other facilities
(clauses 52) for consistency with the right to
freedom of association.
- We
are of the view that the limits placed on the exercise of the powers to
segregate and transfer prisoners and the rights afforded
prisoners means that
the limits on the right to freedom of association are justifiable in terms of
section 5 of the Bill of Rights
Act.
Section 22 Right to be free
from arbitrary arrest or detention
- We
have considered the provisions in the Bill that relate to the powers of
Corrections officers to detain persons in a prison (other
than prisoners) on the
grounds that they have reasonable grounds to believe that that person is in
possession of a controlled drug
within the meaning of the Misuse of Drugs Act
1975 (clause 103) for consistency with the right to be free from arbitrary
arrest or
detention (section 22 of the Bill of Rights Act).
- This
clause has been inserted into the Bill as a result of a Court of Appeal decision
and a subsequent decision by Cabinet to amend
the Bill to negate the effect of
that decision, SDC Min (02) 8/13, confirmed by CAB Min (02) 34/6.
- The
Court of Appeal in R v Ihaka (CA 71/02, 17 June 2002) held that a
Corrections officer was a constable for the purposes of the Misuse of Drugs Act
1975, and was
authorised to conduct a strip search of a visitor for the purposes
of that Act. However, the Court of Appeal held that a Corrections
officer was
not authorised to detain a visitor until such time as a police officer was
available to conduct a strip-search. Cabinet
has subsequently decided to remove
the power that Corrections officers have to strip search persons other than
prisoners under the
Misuse of Drugs Act (clause 23(3)). Corrections officers
would also be authorised to detain persons to enable a police officer to
conduct
a search.
- We
consider that the power in Clause 103 authorising a Corrections officer to
detain persons other than prisoners for the purposes
of enabling a police
officer to conduct a strip-search is reasonable and therefore appears to be
consistent with section 22 of the
Bill of Rights Act. We note, in reaching this
conclusion that a person detained under this provision must be released if the
Corrections
officer is made aware that a police officer is not able to conduct
the search within the specified time limit of 4 hours or does
not conduct the
search within that period (Clauses 103(3) and 103(4)
refer).
Section 27 Right to the observance of the
principles of natural justice
- We
have considered those provisions in the Bill that regulate the procedures to be
adopted and the powers to be exercised by hearing
adjudicators and Visiting
Justices when conducting hearings of complaints relating to offences against
discipline and when imposing
a penalty for such offences (clauses 132 to 139)
for consistency with the right to the observance of the principles of natural
justice
(section 27(1) of the Bill of Rights Act).
- In
particular, we examined clause 134(2), which sets out the circumstances in which
a prisoner may be granted permission to be represented
at the hearing of a
charge alleging an offence against discipline. The Court of Appeal in Drew v
Attorney-General [2001] NZCA 207; [2002] 1 NZLR 58 held that natural justice might require
legal representation of a prisoner in a disciplinary hearing in situations where
the prisoner
was unable to adequately represent him or herself. These situations
may be "if the [prisoner] is very young or under a disability
[or] if the
matter, though minor, is of unusual complexity." Even though the ability to
obtain legal representation is to remain
the exception rather than the rule, in
our view clause 134(2) can be read consistently with 27 of the Bill of Rights
Act. The criteria
in the Bill to be used to determine whether a prisoner should
be legally represented closely follow the Court of Appeal’s decision.
- We
also considered clause 134(3) of the Bill, which provides that whenever a
prisoner is granted legal representation the hearing
adjudicator must refer the
prisoner’s case to a Visiting Justice for hearing and determination.
Clause 134(4) appears to be
problematic since a Visiting Justice may impose a
higher penalty on a prisoner found to have committed an offence than a hearing
adjudicator; a prisoner may therefore inadvertently expose him or herself to
higher penalties by seeking legal representation. We
are of the view,
nonetheless, that this provision appears to be consistent with section 27(1) of
the Bill of Rights Act.
- In
forming this view, we note that clause 136(5) limits the range of penalties that
a Visiting Judge may impose when a case is referred
to the Visiting Justice in
this way. The only exception being when the conduct that constitutes the offence
is such that, in the
opinion of the Visiting Judge, it warrants a higher penalty
than can be imposed by the hearing adjudicator. This exception appears
to cover
those cases where an adjudicator would normally refer a case to a visiting
justice as an offence that warranted a higher
penalty. Therefore, we consider
that in practice it would not expose a prisoner to a higher penalty merely
because that prisoner
chose to be represented by counsel.
- In
summary, we consider that the provisions regulating the hearing and
determination of disciplinary offences appear to be consistent
with section
27(1) of the Bill of Rights Act.
Conclusion
- We
consider that the provisions in the Bill appear to be consistent with the rights
and freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights Act.
- In
accordance with your instructions, we attach a copy of this opinion for referral
to the Minister of Justice. A copy is also attached
for referral to the Minister
of Corrections if you
agree.
Val Sim Chief Legal Counsel
|
Boris van Beusekom Legal Adviser Bill of Rights/Human Rights
Team
|
Cc: Minister of
Justice
Minister of
Corrections
Copy for your
information
In addition to the general disclaimer for all documents on this website,
please note the following: This advice was prepared to assist
the
Attorney-General to determine whether a report should be made to Parliament
under s 7 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990
in relation to the
Corrections Bill 2002. It should not be used or acted upon for any other
purpose. The advice does no more than
assess whether the Bill complies with the
minimum guarantees contained in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The release
of this
advice should not be taken to indicate that the Attorney-General agrees
with all aspects of it, nor does its release constitute a
general waiver of
legal professional privilege in respect of this or any other matter. Whilst care
has been taken to ensure that
this document is an accurate reproduction of the
advice provided to the Attorney-General, neither the Ministry of Justice nor the
Crown Law Office accepts any liability for any errors or omissions.
Appendix
One: Approach to sections 9, 18, 21, 23(5) and 27(1) of the Bill of Rights
Act.
The right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, degrading
punishment
- Almost
anything can be treatment for the purposes of section 9 where the state has
actively interacted with an individual in a disciplinary
context. The caselaw in
New Zealand to date, while focusing on the threshold of disproportionality (etc)
indicates that the courts
will accept that most conduct will be treatment for
the purposes of section 9.
- In
order for the treatment or punishment to be cruel or disproportionately severe,
the courts have consistently held that the punishment
or treatment must be so
excessive as to outrage standards of decency given to the nature of the
treatment or punishment and the context
within which it is applied R v
Smith [1987] 1 SCR 1045, pp1072, 1088-1089); R v Leitch [1998] 1 NZLR
420; (1997) 15 CRNZ 321 (CA), at p 431.
- The
notion that treatment or punishment should not be degrading is concerned with
the effect that the treatment or punishment is likely
to have on an individual.
On "degrading" the European Court of Human Rights has held
[1]:
Where treatment
humiliates or debases an individual showing a lack of respect for, or
diminishing, his or her human dignity or arouses
feelings of fear, anguish or
inferiority capable of breaking the individual's moral and physical resistance,
it may be characterised
as degrading.
- Even
though all forms of treatment or punishment are likely to have an element of
degradation it is clear that the level of degradation
must exceed society's
expectations of what is appropriate in a particular context. One of the leading
UK cases on "degrading" is
the case of Tyrer v UK (1978-79) 2 EHRR. The
European Court in Tyrer held that when considering whether a form of treatment
or punishment is degrading,
consideration will be given to a number of factors
including the nature of the act, the context within which it is delivered, the
manner of its execution, and the impact it has on the
victim.
Section 17 The right to freedom of association
- Although
the New Zealand courts have not fully determined the issue, the Ministry's view
is that the right to freely associate includes
the right not to associate as
well as the right to associate.
- The
Ministry's position on this issue is consistent with the courts' approach to the
freedom of expression - that the right to freedom
of expression includes the
right not to make any statement.
Section 21 Right to be secure
against unreasonable search and seizure
- Section
21 of the Bill of Rights Act provides for the right to be secure against
unreasonable search or seizure. In assessing the
substantive "reasonableness" of
any power of search or seizure, the Ministry is of the view that section 5 of
the Bill of Rights
Act (justified limitations) is of limited application. The
justification for any limitation of the right provided in section 21 is
whether
the search is "reasonable" in the circumstances.
- However,
a number of the considerations which are normally relevant in the context of the
section 5 inquiry will also be material
in assessing the "reasonableness" of a
power of search or seizure. "Reasonable" in the context of section 21
essentially means that
the power to search or seize is substantively justified
in the context of balancing legitimate state interest against the expectations
of privacy.
Section 22 Right to be free from arbitrary arrest or
detention
- Not
every deprivation of liberty involves a detention for the purposes of section 22
of the Bill of Rights Act. The detention must
be substantial - that is, more
than a "temporary check, hindrance, or intrusion on the citizen's
liberty[2]" and include
a certain threshold of compulsion.
- The
Courts in New Zealand and elsewhere have held that consideration of whether an
arrest or form of detention is arbitrary or not
involves more than a
consideration as to whether the arrest or detention was lawful; it "must be
interpreted more broadly to include
elements of inappropriateness, injustice and
lack of predictability" Van Alphen v The
Netherlands[3].
- Any
discretionary power to detain a person also needs to be accompanied by
appropriate criteria governing its exercise so that the
decision can be made
with reference to an adequate determining principle and in accordance with
proper procedure[s]44
Neilsen v A-G 3/5/01, CA101/00
. The detention should also not continue beyond the period for which the
State can provide appropriate justification.
Section 23(5)
Everyone deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity...
- Section
23(5) applies to the deprivation of liberty. The White Paper, para 10.102, notes
that the provision clearly has relevance
to standards of police detention and
prison administration and other forms of detention authorised by the state. As
the White Paper
also notes there is an overlap between it and section 9. The
UNHRC has noted that persons deprived of liberty should not
be:
...subjected to any hardship or constraint other than that
resulting from the deprivation of liberty; respect for the dignity of such
persons must be guaranteed under the same conditions as for that of free
persons. Persons deprived of their liberty enjoy all the
rights set forth in the
Covenant, subject to the restrictions that are unavoidable in a closed
environment[5].
Section 27(1) Right to the observance of the principles of natural
justice
- The
observance of natural justice has traditionally required compliance with two
broad principles. The first principle relates to
the right to hear the other
side and the second to the freedom from bias or partiality on the part of the
decision-maker. The right
in section 27(1) is considered to be a flexible
doctrine, the scope and content of which adapts to particular situations. The
requirements
of natural justice depend on a number of factors, including the
circumstances of the case, the rules under which the tribunal or
public
authority is acting, the matter that is being dealt with, the sanctions that
could be imposed and the nature of the inquiry
or determination.
[1] Diane Pretty
(Application No. 2346/02) para
52
[2] Police v.
Smith and Herewini [1993] NZCA 585; [1994] 2 NZLR 306, 316; [1993] NZCA 585; (1993) 11 CRNZ 78, 88; per
Richardson J
[3] UN
Human Rights Committee
305/88[s]
[5]
General Comment 21[44], adopted on 3/04/1992
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