Friday, July 23, 2004
A foundational law takes a king hit
A High Court judge has made a ruling that has huge implications for the future of the rule of law in New Zealand. Justice Paterson has ruled that the writ of Habeas Corpus does not apply to people detained under NZ's new terrorism laws. This means that people suspected of terrorism can be detained indefinitely without being charged or brought to trial.
Habeas Corpus is one of the oldest foundations of English law. It was brought in through the Magna Carta in 1215, and is the thing that really sets English law apart from the laws of other European countries. Undermining it is one of the first steps that any dictator takes.
Suspending any foundational law of this kind is an outrage. If a person is thought to be guilty of terrorism, it should be justice in anyone's book that they be charged and brought before the court - not locked up at the State's whim and pleasure.
What gives it even an even more sinister twist is that the law also takes any person acting against the economic interests of the State. If you or I are somehow deemed, for instance, to have harmed New Zealand's lamb exports to Tunisia, we could be arrested and thrown in jail, without the State ever having to prove a case against us.
A High Court judge has made a ruling that has huge implications for the future of the rule of law in New Zealand. Justice Paterson has ruled that the writ of Habeas Corpus does not apply to people detained under NZ's new terrorism laws. This means that people suspected of terrorism can be detained indefinitely without being charged or brought to trial.
Habeas Corpus is one of the oldest foundations of English law. It was brought in through the Magna Carta in 1215, and is the thing that really sets English law apart from the laws of other European countries. Undermining it is one of the first steps that any dictator takes.
Suspending any foundational law of this kind is an outrage. If a person is thought to be guilty of terrorism, it should be justice in anyone's book that they be charged and brought before the court - not locked up at the State's whim and pleasure.
What gives it even an even more sinister twist is that the law also takes any person acting against the economic interests of the State. If you or I are somehow deemed, for instance, to have harmed New Zealand's lamb exports to Tunisia, we could be arrested and thrown in jail, without the State ever having to prove a case against us.
