What is a "Search" under s21 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990? An Analysis, Critique and Tripartite Approach
Scott L Optican |
Section 21 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 states that all searches and seizures must be reasonable. The provision has had a significant impact on the judicial control of police investigative practices and has required courts to rule both on the meaning of "search" and on "reasonableness" as used in s 21. To date, academic commentary and case law development has focused on the explication of reasonableness. Indeed, owing to self-conscious avoidance of the issue by the Court of Appeal, common law interpretations of "search" are conflicting and uncertain in current case law. This article argues for an expansive, privacy-based conception of "search", taking into account the three interpretive constructs of place, object and intrusiveness in determining whether official investigative conduct will implicate s 21. Such an approach is required in order to bring coherence to the legal meaning of "search", and to give s 21 sufficient scope to protect individual privacy interests in light of the wide variety of investigative techniques now employed by the police.
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Sale of Goods
at Auction
Without Reserve
Brian Coote
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There has long been argument over the legal position when an auctioneer, having announced that a sale of goods would be "without reserve", fails to sell to the highest bona fide bidder. In this article, Professor Coote explores the extent to which that question has been answered by the English Court of Appeal in the recent case of Barry v Davies.
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2001 PART III
