N.Z. to review British laws

Press, 22 October 1986, Page 8

N.Z. to review British laws

Wellington reporter The Government and Opposition are united on legislation introduced yesterday to clarify which British laws still apply to New Zealand. The Imperial Laws Application Bill is the second version of legislation first introduced by the former Minister of Justice, Mr McLay, in 1981. That bill lapsed three, years later. The present'

Minister, Mr Palmer, said yesterday that the bill had been intended to raise the issues concerned before Parliament and prompt public submissions to the Statutes Revision Select Committee. Messrs Palmer and McLay both praised the detailed work in preparing the second bill and predicted it would become a model for other former colonies seeking to clarify their statutory ties

with Britain. The bill has its origins in the adoption of New Zealand as a colony in 1840 when all British law was deemed to apply in this country. A number of constitutional changes since then have limited the application of British law here. The bill lists acts, notably those such as the Magna Carta of 1297 and the Petition of Right of 1627 f/hich have constitu-

tional significance, which will continue to apply in New Zealand. It also amends provisions of other statutes and repeals still others completely. Mr Palmer said the bill’s importance lay in its clarification of which British statutes were still applicable and improving access to the law in New Zealand. The bill has only 24 pages, but additional explanatory notes ctffnprise

112 pages. Mr Palmer said he was considering the unusual step of having those notes included in the final publication of the bill in the Statute Books. Mr McLay said the bill was part of a tidy-up of the New Zealand Statute Books which started in 1978. For the first time, there would be a definitive list of all acts which composed current law in New Zealand.