A Criminal Cases Review Commission

Stuff reports:

Millions of taxpayers’ dollars could be saved by setting up an independent body to investigate miscarriages of justice currently dealt with by a “clumsy and blunt” court process, Canterbury University’s dean of law says.

Chris Gallavin and Labour justice spokesperson Andrew Little have renewed a decade-old debate, calling for the establishment of a Criminal Cases Review Commission.

I’m actually a supporter of such a Commission. It was the Peter Ellis case that convinced me it was necessary.

Little said the current process for dealing with alleged miscarriages of justice was “very ad hoc and there’s no dedicated resources to it”.

He quoted research which showed there were about 12 cases of injustice in New Zealand each year, but only one or two were picked up in through the prerogative of mercy process.

As I said, I support such a Commission. But what isn’t clear is whether Labour is promising to establish one, or is just calling for this Government to introduce one. There is a significant difference. If it is the former, then what are the proposed details of it, what will it cost, and what will its scope and powers be? Much harder to do the detailed work, than to just say I think this is a good idea.