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5 Questions

THE LAW COMMISSION SEEKS SUBMISSIONS on the following questions:

• Is any reform of the current law as applied in Moore’s case necessary?
  (paragraphs 16–21). If so, how? In particular:
• Should the penalties for perjury and other related crimes be increased? (paragraphs 22–26)
• Should the minimum non-parole period in relation to perjury and related crimes be reviewed? (paragraphs 24–26)
• Is there a need for the creation of new crimes of ‘aggravated perjury’ and/or ‘aggravated conspiracy to pervert the course of justice’? If so what should the elements of each offence be? (paragraphs 27–32)
• Should the previous acquittal rule be abandoned altogether? (paragraphs 33–35)
• Should an exception to the previous acquittal rule be created? If so what form should it take? (paragraphs 36–51)
• Should New Zealand adopt provisions similar to the ‘tainted acquittal’ provisions in the United Kingdom? If so, should New Zealand amend the provisions in line with the recommendations of the Law Commission for England and Wales of permitting a judge alone to direct retrial on the original charge without a jury conviction of an administration of justice offence? Or should a jury conviction be required as a condition of leave to retry? (paragraphs 46–49)
• If the law should be changed should the reform be purely prospective or should it be retrospective? (paragraph 50)
• Should the safeguard in section 112 of the Crimes Act 1961 apply to all the crimes against justice listed in paragraph 4l?
• Is the principled exception to the previous acquittal rule proposed in Option 5 (paragraphs 36–50) justifiable in terms of section 5 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990?
• Should the common law be developed as suggested in paragraphs 101–102 and 107? If so, should it be by legislative reform? Or should it be left to the Court of Appeal when an appropriate case comes before it?