New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990

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New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990
Coat of arms of New Zealand.svg
Logo of the New Zealand Parliament
Public Act No. 1990 no 109
Responsible Ministry Ministry of Justice

Minister responsible for introduction		 Geoffrey Palmer
Parliament decision 1990
Royal Assent August 28, 1990
Force of law September 25, 1990
Last version July, 1st 2013
Web link New Zealand Legislation 1990 0109

The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (NZBORA) ( New Zealand Fundamental Rights Act ) is a law that the human rights and fundamental rights in New Zealand confirm protect and to promote. Furthermore, the law confirms the commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ( ICCPR ) ( International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ).

The law did not create any new law, it merely confirmed existing general law in New Zealand.

Contents of the law

The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 guarantees

  • the right to life and security of a person, in which no one should be disadvantaged in his or her life; no one is allowed to be treated inhumanly or tortured; no one throws to be the object of medical or scientific experiments and everyone has the right to refuse medical help,
  • democratic and civil rights by giving everyone over the age of 18 the right to vote; has freedom of thought, conscience and religious belief; has the freedom to express himself, including in his faith; has the freedom to meet with others and to form associations and to move freely,
  • Minority rights and the right not to be discriminated against,
  • the right to be protected from unfounded persecution and arrest; in the event of arrest, the right to information and legal assistance and the right to justice.

However, the rights can be restricted in individual cases by a judge if they conflict with other law. Legislators must take the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 into account when creating new legislation .

Public criticism of the law

Although the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 contains legal rights that are part of a country's constitution, it does not have the character of a Supreme Law , as the law can be changed by a simple majority in parliament and not by others Laws. The demand from the public arena to raise the law to constitutional level has not yet been met. Proponents of this law, however, indicated that the law should be kept flexible and there should be the possibility that the law can be more easily adapted to the changed social conditions. This is contradicted by the fact that if the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 conflicts with other laws and these cannot be overwritten because of the lack of constitutional status of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 , the judges must interpret the law in each individual case.

Criticism was also expressed that no attempt was made to incorporate the Treaty of Waitangi and the rights of the Māori in the law.

Reform discussion

In December 2013 the Constitutional Advisory Panel submitted a report with recommendations to the New Zealand Parliament . This report suggested:

  • add economic, social and cultural rights, property rights and environmental rights to the law,
  • bring the Executive Council and Parliament more in line with the law,
  • give the judiciary more power to bring legislation into line with the law.

So far, however, the proposals have not been implemented in parliament.

literature

  • Janine Hayward (Ed.): New Zealand Government and Politics . 6th edition. Oxford University Press , Melbourne 2015, ISBN 978-0-19-558525-4 (English).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 . New Zealand Legislation , accessed June 8, 2015 .
  2. ↑ Kenneth Keith : New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 . New Zealand Ministry of Justice , accessed June 8, 2015 .
  3. ^ A b Janine Hayward : 3.2 The Constitution . In: New Zealand Government and Politics . 2015, p.  138 .
  4. ^ New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 - Does the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act override other laws? . community law , archived from the original on November 21, 2014 ; accessed on February 23, 2016 (English, original website no longer available).
  5. ↑ Alex MacBean : Research papers - New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990: options for reform . New Zealand Parliament , October 8, 2014, accessed June 8, 2015 .