Simplifying Criminal Procedure

Criminal Procedure Act 2011

The Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill was read for a third time in Parliament on 4 October 2011.

Criminal Procedure

Criminal procedure is the court process followed when someone is accused of committing an offence.

The new Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and associated amendment Acts address criticisms of criminal procedure that have been building over the past 10-20 years. The changes introduced by these new Acts represent the biggest reform of criminal procedure in over 50 years.

These changes will make criminal procedure faster, clearer and fairer.

Commencement

The Criminal Procedure Act 2011 will be commenced in two stages:

A small number of provisions (eg, suppression, sentence indications, amendments to the Bail Act 2000, amendments to the Crimes Act 1961) will come into force early in 2012 by Order in Council.
The remaining provisions will be brought into force by Order in Council in 2013.

Changes

The most significant changes include:

Issue	Current situation	Change
Offence categories	Complex system of seven offence categories.	Number of offence categories reduced to four. "Summary/indictable" distinction removed.
Case progression	How a case proceeds determined by complex system of offence categories and discretionary decisions by prosecution and defendant.	Two basic procedural tracks – judge alone and jury; procedure is streamlined; the link between fact-finder (judge or jury) and appropriate trial court (District Court or High Court) is separated; the “committal” is step removed.
Case management	Case progression based on court events with often little incentive for parties to progress cases between court appearances, or to comply with procedures.	Parties required to exchange information outside of court and to discuss the progress of their case between court appearances. Incentives and sanctions are put in place, which require all parties to comply with procedures.
Jury trial threshold	Defendant can elect a jury trial if the offence carries a maximum penalty of more than three months imprisonment.	Defendant can elect a jury trial if the offence carries a maximum penalty of two years’ or more imprisonment.
Jury numbers	If jury numbers fall to ten jurors, trials usually need to be abandoned and a retrial ordered.	Increased flexibility to continue with jury trials when jury numbers fall to ten.
Suppression of names and evidence	Broad discretion for granting of suppression.	Presumption of open justice starting point for considering suppression. Clearly defined grounds for granting of suppression provided in statute.
Proceeding in the absence of the defendant	When the court can continue proceedings in the absence of the defendant is set out in case law.	The existing law for proceeding in the absence is clarified in statute.
Technology	Law requires a paper-based system for managing information in the courts.	Law allows proper use of modern technology, such as electronic filing of charges in courts.

Further information is available in the following Fact Sheets:

1. Case Management

2. Defence Identification of Issues in Dispute

3. Proceeding in Absence of Defendant

4. Case Progression

5. Categorisation of Offences

6. Restricting Availability of Jury Trials

7. Incentives and Sanctions

8. Youth Court Impacts

9. Suppressing Names and Evidence

10. Appeals Processes

11. Implementation/Commencement

The Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill was considered by the Justice and Electoral Committee (the Committee) during its parliamentary stages. The Committee’s report and evidence submitted to it is available on the Parliamentary website.

Further information is also available from the Beehive website.

International comparisons

These changes would bring New Zealand in step with similar jurisdictions overseas. For example:

In Australian states jury trials are typically reserved for crimes with a maximum penalty of one to two years imprisonment. In Victoria, the threshold is five years.
The United Kingdom has established a compulsory case management memorandum system, encouraging out-of-court discussion.

People affected

Because of the wide range of people affected by the criminal justice system, better processes will have benefits for:

Victims, who should expect justice without delay
Defendants, who have the right to a fair trial and to know the outcome of the case against them in a timely manner
Witnesses, who have to attend court to give evidence
Taxpayers, who largely bear the cost of the system

Existing law

The current law relating to criminal procedure is mainly contained in the:

Both Acts have been amended repeatedly over the years.

About criminal procedure

All criminal procedure has three basic stages:

Administration

The administration stage deals with all initial matters occurring after police charge the defendant, but before the defendant enters a plea. These might include:

Disclosure
Bail
Name suppression
Arrangements for legal representation.

Review

After a not-guilty plea is entered, the case is reviewed to decide whether it should go to trial and on what basis. This stage might include:

Full disclosure
Withdrawal or amendment of charges
Sentence indications.

Trial

This stage includes:

Preparing for trial, including pre-trial applications such as evidence admissibility
The trial itself, including sentencing and appeals.

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Ministry of Justice, New Zealand

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