Worth Richard: Judicial Retirement Age Bill — In Committee 
Worth Richard: Judicial Retirement Age Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:637;Page:7642] 
Dr RICHARD WORTH (National) 
: 
 As the previous speaker Chris Finlayson said this important legislation—the Judicial Retirement Age Bill which National supports—raises the statutory retirement age for all judges associate judges of the High Court coroners and community magistrates in New Zealand from the age of 68 to the more magic age of 70. 
But it is not in this part of the debate that I want to focus on clause 3—that all-important purpose clause. Instead I want to take a moment to deal with the commencement provision which is contained in clause 2. It is simply stated: “This Act comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal Assent.” As those who follow the parliamentary process know only too well a bill must set out precisely when it is proposed to come into force. This rule reflects the legal rule that an Act comes into force on the date stated or provided for in the Act. That rule is contained in the Interpretation Act 1999. 
In principle the commencement provision should fix a precise date but the commencement of legislation can be deferred for it to be brought into force by Order in Council where there are considered to be good reasons for doing so. In this case of course the Act will come into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent. But if that were not so in the circumstances that I have spoken about that relate to Acts coming into force by Order in Council the reasons for deferring the commencement of the legislation to an unspecified date are set out in the bill’s explanatory note. As the Regulations Review Committee commented in an earlier Parliament any use of the power to defer the commencement of a bill’s provision other than for reasons given in the explanatory note is very likely to attract criticism. 
I note that until 1999 the commencement of a bill was invariably dealt with in the first clause along with the title. But that is not so in the case of this bill. Here we find the title in clause 1 and the commencement date in clause 2 which reflects the requirement that the commencement provision must now be in a distinct clause devoted solely to that matter. I see that the Minister in charge of the bill Rick Barker is watching me in a rapt way and doubtless learning much that he has never known of before. 
So that is the second clause of the bill. That clause forms along with the title clause a bill’s preliminary clause which precedes the first distinct part of the bill—if the bill is drafted in parts. There may of course be different provisions in the bill that come into force at different times. As the Minister will know this must be indicated in the commencement clause with cross-references to those other clauses where the precise commencement details are set out. I need to refer in that regard only to Standing Order 257(2). That said I think National is pleased that in this particular case the Act comes into force on the nominated date in clause 2. Certainly we do not have any misgivings about that planned course of action. So I commend those who with care have drafted clause 2 in the neat and precise way they have.