Barker Rick: New Zealand Council of Law Reporting Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Barker Rick: New Zealand Council of Law Reporting Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:625;Page:20619] 
Hon RICK BARKER (Associate Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the New Zealand Council of Law Reporting Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 I propose that this bill be referred to the Government Administration Committee for consideration and that it report back before 31 October 2005. This is not a large bill it is a relatively small bill and in fact if it were not for one party’s objection it would have been included in a recent Statutes Amendment Bill. But it is a very important bill and I refer to a quote during the first reading of the original New Zealand Council of Law Reporting Act in 1938 from a Mr Sexton: “All law is not made in this Chamber … The law of New Zealand was based upon the common law of England originally and it has been modified during the years by statutes and by case law.” Case law together with a doctrine of precedent plays an important role in maintaining the integrity and fairness of New Zealand’s justice system. The application of legal principles set down in past cases to new similar cases ensures that like cases are decided alike and leads to greater certainty and fairness—two important principles in the New Zealand legal system. 
Law reports are an essential part of case law and precedent. The law reports are the source of case law and precedent and they are where the official decisions of the courts are to be found. Aside from promoting the fair and equal treatment of citizens the use of authorised law reports also promotes accountability by opening up the judiciary’s decisions to scrutiny. Judicial decisions are required to be accompanied by reasons. These reasons ensure that decisions are reached and determined in a legitimate manner. 
The existing Act provides for law reporting in New Zealand to be carried out by the New Zealand Council of Law Reporting. The council currently records the key judgments of the High Court and the Court of Appeal in the  
New Zealand Law Reports 
 which are recognised as New Zealand’s only official law reports. This bill simply provides for the inclusion of the Supreme Court into the existing regime of reporting and publishing that has been provided for under the Act since 1938. 
To ensure the continued value and validity of the  
New Zealand Law Reports 
 it is essential that they include the key judgments of New Zealand’s final appellate court. One of the purposes of the establishment of the Supreme Court was to improve accessibility of New Zealand’s appellate courts. The natural flow-on from this is to have access to the judgments of this court. The role of the Supreme Court is to oversee all areas of law; however it will be able to deal only with cases that involve significant issues. Due to the ability of the Supreme Court to delve into legal analysis in greater detail than is possible in the lower courts it is essential that people have access to its judgments. The decisions of the Supreme Court will provide invaluable guidance to the lower courts as to the application and interpretation of legal principles. Without reliable publication of the judgments the validity of the case law and precedent is jeopardised. 
The bill follows consultation with the Chief Justice the New Zealand Council of Law Reporting and the New Zealand Law Society. The New Zealand Council of Law Reporting will have the primary responsibility of reporting the key judgments of the Supreme Court and these judgments will be included in the official law reports of New Zealand along with those of the High Court and the Court of Appeal. Currently only the Council of Law Reporting may publish the judgments of the High Court and the Court of Appeal with an exception that the New Zealand Law Society may authorise the alternative publication of these court judgments if certain conditions are met. The bill will extend the exception to clarify the ability of the Law Society to authorise the publication of judgments of the High Court the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court in specialist law reports or other occasional publications. Further exceptions included in the bill give the Chief Justice following consultation with the Law Society the ability to authorise the alternative publication of Supreme Court judgments where appropriate. 
This bill will enable the Council of Law Reporting to continue producing an authoritative and reliable set of key judgments of New Zealand’s higher courts. I commend the bill to the House.