Arthur Taylor Jailhouse Lawyer: February 2013

“Attempts to fix the monumental stuff up over the Prison Smoking Ban breaches fundamental principles of criminal law” says Jailhouse Lawyer Arthur Taylor .

By instituting legislation in the way it did , by Supplementary Order Paper 171 to the Corrections Amendment Bill , the Government would side step the requirements in Section 7 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act for the Attorney General to bring Parliament’s attention to any inconsistencies in it with the NZ Bill of Rights Act .

Arthur Taylor says he will claim in the High Court on 7 March that the legislation breaches sections 19 , 23(5) , 26 & 27 of the NZ Bill of Rights Act. He will seek Declarations to that effect .

Section 141(1)(g) of the proposed legislation would impose retrospective criminal liability on persons possessing tobacco in prisons , when it was not an offence at the time of possession” . Mr Taylor says ” This offends against Section 26(2) of the NZ Bill of Rights Act” .

“ By declaring tobacco to be an unlawful item in prisons retrospectively , after the High Court ruled last 20 December that it was not unlawful, means that someone could be unreasonably convicted of an offence under Section 141 (1) (g) carrying penalties of imprisonment and fines . This would compound the wrongs that have already been done to prisoners through the unlawful smoking ban. It would breach the NZ Bill of Rights Act & international treaties New Zealand has ratified , such as the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights. It may expose New Zealand to being taken before the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva “ Mr Taylor says .

“ I suggest MP’s take a very close look at this legislation before it is passed into law” he added