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Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Bill (Consistent) (Section 14) [2005] NZBORARp 6 (11 March 2005)
Last Updated: 15 September 2020
Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Bill
11 March 2005
Attorney-General
LEGAL ADVICE
CONSISTENCY WITH THE NEW ZEALAND BILL OF RIGHTS ACT
1990
Crimes (Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Bill -
PCO6256/6
Our Ref: ATT114/1370(2)
- I
have considered the above Bill for consistency with the New Zealand Bill of
Rights Act 1990 ("the Bill of Rights"). I advise that
the Bill appears to be
consistent with the Bill of Rights.
- The
Bill proposes amendments to the Crimes Act 1961 by creating three new offences
(cl 3). The three new offences relate to:
2.1 the making of an
intimate visual recording;
2.2 the possession of an intimate visual recording; and
2.3 the publishing, importing, exporting, or selling of an intimate visual
recording.
- Intimate
visual recording is defined in cl 3. It is a recording such as a photograph,
videotape or digital image, taken without the
knowledge or the consent of the
person who is its subject, and made in a place in which the subject would
reasonably expect privacy.
The recording must also show the subject as either:
- naked, or having
parts of his or her body exposed or partially exposed, or clad solely in
undergarments; or
- engaged in
intimate sexual activity; or
- engaged in
showering, toileting, or other personal bodily activity that involves dressing
or undressing.
- Intimate
visual recording also means the non-consensual recording of a person’s
naked or undergarment clad genitals, pubic area,
buttocks or female breasts,
beneath or under a person’s clothing ("up skirt" and "down blouse
filming"), or through a person’s
outer clothing in circumstances where it
is unreasonable to do so (cl 3).
- Following
a conviction for one of these new offences, in addition to passing sentence or
making any other order, the Court may order
the destruction or impounding of the
recording (cl 3).
- Immunity
from liability under the new offences is provided to the subject of the
recording and his or her lawyer (cl 3). The Police,
Customs officers, officers
and employees of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, and employees of
the Department of Corrections
(or other employees exercising powers under the
Corrections Act 2004), are also granted immunity from liability provided the
recording
is made in good faith and is in relation to certain functions
prescribed in the Bill (cl 3).
Section 14 BORA Issue
- These
three new offences created by the Bill raise the issue of compliance with s 14
of the Bill of Rights. Section 14 protects the
right to "freedom of expression,
including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and opinions of
any kind and any form".
- It
is debateable whether criminalising intimate visual recording engages the Bill
of Rights, as it would be possible to argue that
the act of filming alone does
not constitute an "expression". If it does, any limit on s 14 of the Bill of
Rights is plainly justified
for the reasons set out below.
- Criminalising
the possession and the distribution of intimate visual recordings does
constitute a prima facie infringement of s 14 of the Bill of Rights since
it has a chilling effect on their receipt or distribution or both. However, such
an intrusion is justified in terms of s 5 of the Bill of Rights because society
does not place a high value on that kind of expression
whereas it does place a
high value of on the expectation of privacy in such situations. The public
interest in privacy outweighs
the limit on freedom of expression created by the
new offences.
Disposal and forfeiture
- For
the same reason, in the sense that it might be seen to constitute a kind of
censorship, the ability for a Court to order the destruction
or impounding of an
intimate visual recording (following a conviction) does not breach the Bill of
Rights.
Immunities
- The
immunities raise no Bill of Rights issues.
Martha
Coleman
Associate Crown Counsel
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 Crimes
(Intimate Covert Filming) Amendment Bill. 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.
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